Healing a Broken Heart
by bluestockingkat
Summary: The muggle boy looked out the shop window and saw a girl standing outside in the rain in a fancy, ruined dress. She had been crying but now was staring at the sky. Her moment of calmness was ruined by a boy, who she has an argument with, and they disappear before the muggle's eyes. Hermione ends up staying at Draco's house. It will cause trouble for both of them.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This story is also on under a different penname. I started this in 2011, and it's just been ongoing. I wanted to post it on here also because I'm on this website more than the other, so why not?** **I'm just letting it be known in the off chance someone recognizes it. It is actually mine! :) As I repost it, I will be going through to edit (basically add commas everywhere!) and changing it so it'll be a little different than the original.**

Chapter 1: Leaving

The muggle boy just finished putting up new books on the upper shelf of a bookstore. It was an ordinary rainy day. He turned around and glanced outside. Out of the corner of his eye she caught his attention.

Not because she was the only one in the mass of people walking by without a grey umbrella.

It wasn't because she had streak marks across her pretty face from where she'd been clearly crying.

It wasn't because of the fancy dress she was wearing which by the way was ruined from the rain and mud.

It was not completely because she looked lost and confused but that was part of the reason.

It was because she was standing still in the mass of people walking by in a purple dress and not one of them paid her any attention. It was because she was staring up at the stormy, cloud-filled sky standing perfectly still as if wishing it would take her away somewhere else.

The muggle boy was about to go out and see if she needed help or directions, but a boy came up to her from behind. He had red hair, and it was as if he appeared out of nowhere. He too didn't have an umbrella. The red haired boy was hesitant but touched her arm while his grew flatter with the rain. The muggle boy now understood why he was hesitant. The girl with brown curly hair turned and had a look of surprise and disgust on her face as soon as she saw him.

He said something that looked pleading and sincere, but she retorted something back and turned around. He went to grab her arms as if to make her listen but she jerked away from his grasp and pushed him away from her. They started yelling at each other. Tears again welled up in her eyes but this time perhaps out of fury. The boy stepped back from her with anger in his eyes too. The muggle boy watched the whole thing and was deciding whether he should go outside and interfere.

The red haired man spun around and ran his hand through his hair, pausing as he looked straight into the eyes of the boy in the shop who they both realized had been obviously watching the entire thing. The man grabbed her arm firmly as she turned to look inside the shop, and before she could jerk out of his hold, they disappeared.

The boy in the shop did a double take. None of the people walking by seemed to see two people disappear right in front of their eyes, so he let it go and figured it was his mind playing with him. It had been a hard day at work after all. He went back to finish cleaning up with the vague feeling of how real it looked.

Little did he know the seriousness of what was really going on.

A small pop outside indicated someone arrived, so Harry Potter went outside to greet who it was. He wished he hadn't, but it was too late. Ron had already seen him and was dragging a yelling Hermione towards him. Normally he would love to see his friends, but they were in the middle of an argument as always.

"Ron let go!"

"NO! You've got to listen to me," He said while trying to pull her forward. She took out her want and he let go immediately.

"Why would I listen to a stupid little weasel!" She yelled. Ron was enraged at this.

"Harry make this stubborn, yelling-" Ron said as he stepped towards Harry, however Hermione followed him up to the house.

"HEY! You are the-"

Harry sighed and made a loud noise from his wand to make them shut up.

"Oi! People are over so stop being so loud," Harry said.

"Harry make her listen to me. She doesn't understand." Ron replied.

"No I understand perfectly." Hermione said firmly.

Ron went to grab her wrist to get her to go inside but she jerked away and marched inside in front of him, leaving the two boys outside. Hermione didn't bother to remove her shoes as she planned on leaving soon.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Ginny exclaimed from where she was at sitting at the table.

"Did the weepies get you?" said Luna in calmer voice, who was over visiting for tea. The front door slammed softly shut as Ron and Harry went into the other room to talk, also arguing in whispers.

"No Luna, but I really need to get away from Ron," Hermione said, looking pointedly at Ginny, who standing in front of her fussing about her appearance.

"What did he do this time?" Ginny asked in a lower tone of voice.

"I'll write it all in a letter. It's too long of a story, and I don't have time right now." Ginny looked a bit put-out that Hermione wouldn't talk but Luna opened the back door as Hermione edged her way closer.

"I'm sorry. I just need some time to myself, and I need to get someplace where he can't find me...again. Bye." Hermione said and disappeared through the back door before Ginny could protest. Ron came stomping in the kitchen demanding to see Hermione, interrupting the argument he and Harry were having. Ron let out a frustrated grunt when they told him she left.

"Ron I agree with Hermione. Sorry mate." Harry said while walking up to the group while Luna and Ginny began bombarding them with questions, but neither one of the boys would tell after they shared a look.

Meanwhile, Hermione apparated to her flat that she had shared with Ron and bewitched all of her things that couldn't go with her so that he couldn't touch them. A small pop indicated that Ron had arrived at the doorstep. She flicked her wand at the door, sealing it. She knew it'd take him a few moments before he remembered the spell to undo it. After throwing more clothes and other items near her into a familiar purple purse, her face was the last thing Ron saw as she spun and disappeared out of sight.

**A/N: Sorry if it's a bit confusing but it will explain itself in upcoming chapters. Feel free to ask questions in reviews and please leave one because it makes my day!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"What was that all about?" exclaimed Ginny to Ron and Harry after Luna left shortly after Hermione, muttering something about some new creature that was visible when it rained.

"I won't tell you. I assume you'll bloody find out anyway." Ron grumbled after coming back to Harry's from their flat.

"Yes I will, so better you tell me your side of the story." Ginny said menacingly. Harry managed to slip out the back to the garden and let them work it out themselves. They continued going at it for ten minutes before Ron got mad and stormed out the back door to where Harry was.

"I'm leaving mate." he said with his face tinged red. Harry didn't know if it was because of anger or embarrassment from Ginny.

"To find Hermione?" Harry questioned, hoping that he wasn't.

"No. If she wants to go and hide then she can. I'm done with her. I'll write to you, but I better get away from Ginny before she finds out what happened," Ron said as he glanced towards the door, looking for his feisty little sister.

"But you said that she showed up and made a little scene," Harry quietly said. He knew what Ron had done. He didn't like it, but it was Ron's choice after all.

"Sssshhhh. Okay... So maybe it wasn't that little, but Hermione's side of the story is going to be ever worse. Girls exaggerate, you know?" Ron said as he backed up towards the wooden fence in case he needed a quick escape.

"Why don't you just tell Ginny then?"

"Are you mad? It's Ginny and no doubt she'll hex me. She never takes my side."

"Fine. Where are you going?" Harry asked.

"I don't know yet, but...I think I'm going to go see-well, the person who I told you about earlier."

"But she's the one that caused-" Harry started disbelievingly but Ron cut him off again.

"Shut it! I know. I just got to think some things through. And I need to talk to her about some things too."

"Whatever you got to do mate. Bye." Harry said in defeat. Ron nodded and was gone.

Hermione now was in the middle of trying to remember how to put up a tent like her parents did when they went camping when she was younger. So far she wasn't getting very far and stared at the pile of fabric on the ground and the stake in her hand. She was going to do it the muggle way but gave up and used magic. By using magic, the inside became bigger and cozier than a regular tent.

She was going to stay out in the woods for a while because she absolutely did not want any chances of running into Ron. Also, it was peaceful and secluded. The forest she was staying in looked familiar, but Hermione wasn't sure which one it was. In the haste to get away from Ron at their flat, she apparated with a lot on her mind; she was just happy she didn't get splinched.

Her thoughts and feelings were exploding like fireworks in her head. Hermione was mad at Ron for what he had done, mad at _her_ because she basically started the whole incident, sorry that she left Ginny and Luna not knowing what was going on, had more mixed feelings about Ron (things were going so well, but she wasn't going to think about that right now), and isolate from everyone else she left behind.

As much as she hated to admit it, Hermione was running away from it all. Normally she wasn't the type of person that did this and faced the problem head on; however, what happened on their date earlier was a subject she was not going to talk or think about if she could help it, and that's why she felt she would explain everything to Ginny and Luna later.

Suddenly she heard a pop and a crunch of a breaking twig. Someone was in the woods with her, and she had forgotten the protection spells around her little campsite! How stupid of her! Someone behind her whispered a spell but luckily for Hermione, she blocked it as she spun around. Instead of sending one back, she stared at the caster.

"What are you doing here?" She said with loathing.

"This is my property Granger," said the drawling voice of Draco Malfoy. Ahh...That explained how she got here then. She had thought in her head that she hated Ron as much as Malfoy and had been there before for something Ministry related…

"What are you wearing?" she said, distracted, as a laugh escaped her mouth. His white hair was bright underneath the thing on his head that resembled a gas mask. He was also wearing a lot of protective layers over his clothes that were stained with arrays of colors. Most importantly, Draco was holding some weird looking thing in his hand.

He scowled and said, "I was in the middle of a very important experiment when you decided to come and set off the security alarms to my house."

"It's a forest," Hermione said matter of factly. While usually she was not one to make conversation with Malfoy, a thought crossed her mind. If she was able to stay here, and away from Draco of course at all times, then there would be no way for Ron to find her! It seemed risky, but Hermione wasn't thinking clearly after having an exhausting night and day.

"It's my forest, and I command you to get off of it, uh now, or I shall have to call the authorities," he said with his infamous smirk and with a tone of power. The smirk vanished, "Are you even listening to me or is your head that thick?" She had turned around to fish out a camera from her bag. She whipped around and took a picture of him.

"What the heck was that!" He exclaimed, blinking his eyes from the bright flash.

"I know you wouldn't call the authorities on your own precious, mysterious property, but yes Draco please call the authorities. I'm sure the Ministry would love to know what you have there in your hand. Especially since it was banned in 1847 as an illegal…err substance to put in potions. And I can assume the potion you are also making is illegal," Hermione said to a stunned Draco. She had figured out what he was doing. Damn!

"And don't bother messing with my camera, it won't get rid of the image of you holding it unless I make it," she added knowing he didn't have any idea what a camera was since it's a muggle invention.

"Or I could make you make it erase the image," he said menacingly while stepping forward.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You don't scare me one bit Malfoy."

"Where's your little posse? Potter finally decided to tell you how annoying you are? Aren't you supposed to be engaged to that little rat Weasley by now?" Draco said. He didn't mean to insult Potter since he saved his life but it just came out. He didn't care about Weasley though.

Ahh, he seemed to have struck a nerve with her because she stood and said nothing. Draco looked at her more closely and said without much thought, "Have you been crying? Was it from trying to get a comb through that thing you call hair, or is it just you've become sooo much like Weaselby that you can't comprehend what anyone's saying and are frustrated that your skulls as thick as his."

This seem to struck her even more. "You're such a bloody prick Malfoy!" she screamed.

"Then get rid of that blasted image on your flashing device there," Draco said while pointing at it.

"Fine... But I'm staying here." Hermione said, resisting the urge to hex him into tomorrow. No one better find her here in this forest. Draco stared at her while working things out. There must be a reason she doesn't want to leave but I can't curse her...She's too stubborn to argue with, and it's absolutely vital that no one finds out about what he's doing.

"Fine, but don't go past the river. Or do. I don't particularly care how you die," he found himself saying and disappeared. Hermione breathed out in relief. He was an arrogant prat but at least he didn't kick her out. She found that strange but didn't question it too much farther.


	3. Chapter 3

*a week later*

Hermione huffed and stepped over a bright pink acid puddle. Forests were supposed to be calming and full of nature. Not full of deadly things. She was walking around the forest because her tent finally was running low on food. Normal forests had berries, but Hermione suspected the magical fruit here was likely poisonous. Currently, she had mostly given up and was trying to find her way back to the tent.

Malfoy's butler had came down after Draco left six days ago and told her all of the alarms so she wouldn't set them off or else, "Master Malfoy will have to come down sort it all out." As if she wanted to see Malfoy. That's why she was very careful to watch for the alarms and traps.

She wrote letters to Ginny and Luna yesterday and to her pleasure their responses were just like Hermione thought they would be, supporting from both. Except Ginny said next time she saw Ron she was going to jinx him so badly he's be in St. Mungos for a month. Hermione couldn't argue with that.

Luna's was full of different creatures that might have messed with Ron's brain. Apparently weepies were invisible flies that make you cry a lot and leave tear marks on your face like Hermione had when she saw them last. That made Hermione smile, there were no such things. If only Luna were to see the vile creatures in Malfoy's forest!

"Sir, explain to me why she's staying in there again?"

"I told you I don't know. Whatever is going through her head is irrelevant to me. All I know is she has proof I was making that potion we talked about earlier, and she will release that image to the Ministry if I don't let her stay there. Bloody stupid deal but as long as she doesn't bother me. I would tell her to go ahead and do it, but I don't have enough time to pay my way out of the trials. I have very important business to attend to as you fully are aware of," Draco explained to his butler in the handsome hallway of the Manor.

A house elf appeared at their sides. "Sirs, Missy has been informed that an alarm has been set off in the east side of the forest."

"Thank you Missy, you may go now," the butler said to the elf.

"She never stops causing problems does she! I'm already late to that important meeting," Draco said. He inwardly groaned. He didn't really want to see her bushy haired head again. Actually, the last time he saw her it wasn't so bushy. Perhaps he just kept remembering her bossy, bushy haired days at Hogwarts.

"I will go handle it sir, if you wish," the butler offered.

"No, I will. I guess I have to teach her to be more careful, don't I?" He said and was gone.

Draco arrived at her campsite, but she wasn't there. A panicky thought hit him. The alarm was at the east part and her campsite was at the north part. He apparated to the east side of the forest to hear a giant roar nearby. A blue flash of light could be seen through the trees so he ran towards it. What was she doing!

The scene before him was memorable. Granger was fighting this huge breed of a bear and wolf by herself. Draco hardly knew what lurked around his house as long as it stayed away from him. He leaned against a tree and watched while chuckling to himself. She had this under control.

A sinking feeling overcame his stomach. His smile vanished. Even though he was there, what it if acted too quickly for her? Draco wasn't overly fond of her but didn't want to see her die. He never wanted to see anyone die. Plus, there would be the aftermath of Potter and Weasley's anger if they found out.

He watched as her hair whipped around as she shot spells. Hermione saw him out of the corner of her eye leaning against a tree. She shot a stunner at him. He fell backwards while ducking from the red beam that was just aimed at him.

Draco scowled and stood back up, brushing the dirt off of him. It was kind of funny though. Of course, she'd want to finish this herself. Hermione was a good fighter, after all. She should be, he supposed, she knew a ton of spells. Knowing things was attractive. What? Where did that thought come from? He shook his head as if to forget it.

Draco shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking that stuff, he was engaged! Even though he despised the girl he was going to marry, she was a pureblood and not a mud blood with a lion's mane for hair.

All of a sudden she shot out her arm to shoot a spell but her wand flew out of her hand as if she lost the gripping and accidentally threw it. She stumbled back defenseless. How could someone lose ahold of their wand? He laughed out loud. But wait, something was actually wrong. She only let go of her wand because her knees buckled right before went to cast the spell. Hermione was hunched over, grasping her stomach, completely unaware of the monster that was coming closer.

What was Hermione doing! Draco gave an irritated sigh and stepped in to start fighting the creature off who was about to attack her. The creature was a good fighter and most of his spells bounced off of it. It was a hybrid beast after all.

"GET AWAY DRACO! THIS IS MY FIGHT NOT YOURS! I WAS HANDLING THIS PERFECTLY ON MY OWN BEFORE YOU CAME." Hermione screamed at him from behind.

There was more, but he just tuned her out. He turned around and slashed the air, making her fall back on the ground so she would shut up and he could concentrate. This did the opposite of course. Basically it just made her madder, and she started to swear. He, who had an extensive knowledge of most of those words, heard her saying things he'd never heard. Half of him agreed she made them up but the other half took a little offense.

"Oi! Shut it!" He shouted and slashed at her again.

Draco had an advantage over the creature but now he was losing since Hermione distracted him. It gave a mighty roar and reared. The last thing he remembered was it charging at him and Granger yelling, "Draco!"

He was in a dreamlike state, but a sharp pain in his shoulder woke him up from it. He didn't open his eyes. He didn't want to. It hurt but at the same time it didn't. Draco had been dreaming and was trying to get back to the figure in his mind.

The girl was laughing and smiling, urging him to come closer. She had dark hair and was beautiful. So full of energy and life, just what he needed. A nagging voice reminded him that the girl in the dream would always be better than his fiancée, but he chased it away and focused again.

He wanted to run up and hug her, to see that bright smile closer. Suddenly, her image was getting blurrier and the stinging pain became more prominent

Draco was properly awake now but still laying there. Then a sudden realization hit him. The girl in his dream could have been Granger! No. No, it was just his mind behaving madly. Appalled with himself, he opened his eyes to see her hovering over him. He wondered why he kept thinking those things unconsciously!

"Ugh get away from me," he said and tried to roll over away from her but Hermione tugged him back.

"Hold still." she said in a firm voice. He looked over and saw she was performing healing spells on his shoulder and arm that was stained red. Well, it was also gushing blood but he looked away. Overhead were dark green trees and the ground beneath his was hard and lumpy. They were still in the forest.

He stood up a little too quickly and backed away from her. That was a bad idea as his shoulder throbbed with pain. He staggered to a nearby tree and leaned against it for support. His arm was stinging terribly.

"What are you doing!" he managed to ask while his eyes darted over to the creature who was lying sideways on the ground, he hoped dead.

"Fixing it. Now if you'd shut up and get back here-"

"I don't need you to help me." He snarled and looked around for his wand. It was in her hand.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING USING MY WAND!" he yelled. He was very particular about his wand.

"Well I couldn't find mine and you were unconscious-" she said.

"Give it back!" Draco said and lunged towards her. She stepped sideways from him and he ran into the nearest tree.

"If that wound wasn't healed soon you were doing to die." Hermione finished saying. He did something unattractive that was between a smirk and snarl.

He yanked his wand away from her and walked back to the Manor as fast as he could, but his foot hurt so he had to limp. Draco didn't know nor care if she was following him. Finally arriving, he pounded on the door unable to open it because he could barely move his wand arm. The butler opened the door confused, but Draco stormed past him. He told him he was flooing to St. Mungos and to cancel his meetings for the rest of the week.

Draco was fuming. From getting injured in the fight, that Hermione was the girl in his vision and he had wanted to run up to her, that she was using his wand, that he had to cancel very important meetings, and he still couldn't believe he dreamt of that mudblood. The most important thing though was that she was using his wand. It's his wand only.

He arrived in the waiting room and pushed his way past to get up to the level he needed to be at while avoiding questions. The blood was seeping into his clothes and now his best shirt was ruined. Another thing to add to the list of things he was mad about.

Healers rushed to him as soon as they saw him. He didn't remember much after that but his arm was fixed three days later. He sort of liked it in the hospital. No one was there to bug him.

Draco was relaxing in the bed in the Malfoy Wing of the hospital when the trainee healer came in to tell him he had a visitor and she was on her way up. He wondered who it was, surely not Victoria, she didn't care about him. All she wanted was the Malfoy money.

Victoria was his fiancee. He hated even thinking the word. His useless father set them up and it was his dying wish that they stay together. Unfortunately his mother was in the room and made sure his wish was granted. So now he was stuck with her when he might even be in lov-no, he just liked Hermione Granger a little bit. And it only was a little bit. Maybe not even at all. Draco just didn't want her to die. He most certainly did not love her. Maybe he didn't even like her. No. He just didn't want her to die, that was it.

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who's read this so far. Please review and tell me what you think of the action scene, I would really like to know opinions on it!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Hello Malfoy. Better?" said Granger at the entrance at his room. He scowled at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I saved your life. Be nice," Hermione said while she eyed the bandaging around his shoulder.

"You did not! And to be nice to a mudblood, that's laughable. Now what do you really want?"

"To make a deal with you," Hermione said casually while walking more into the room. Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I have no intentions to make a deal with a mudblo-."

"Oh just shove it. You and me both know you don't care about that stuff anymore since after the war," she said.

"You don't know what I-" Draco started.

"Just listen. I see you have paid your way through this incident so it isn't released to the Daily Prophet, but you see, I was there and no matter how much you bribe me I won't keep quiet."

"I wasn't going to bribe you. And I don't care what the Prophet says," Draco said indignantly.

"Unlikely but you might when I tell the Ministry about your little illegally half bred wolf/bear with a potion you made. I'm sure the Prophet will be interested in that," Hermione said.

"Before you try and blackmail someone, make sure you have your facts straight. Actually, I don't know how that thing got in there nor did I breed it. It may be clear to you now, but my forest isn't one to take pleasurely walks in," Draco said, looking around for a button to push to call the a Healer.

"I noticed." Hermione said remembering the pink acid puddle. It burnt a hole through her shoe.

"Fine then i will release that picture to the Ministry with the unmistakable signs of illegal ingredient that has to be mixed together to be made. I'm sure they' love to know why you are making that." Hermione continued.

"What do you want?" He said getting to the point. Draco wanted her to go away. It had been so pleasant when he was alone. Peaceful.

"To stay at the Manor while I'm currently…uh, staying away from certain people," Hermione said, not meeting his grey-blue eyes.

"I see. You had a row with your little Weaselby and don't want to see him." He said smirking.

"Stick to your own business," she snapped angrily.

"I suppose it is my business since you will be staying in my Manor. I must say I am quiet impressed. Little miss perfect is actually not half bad at blackmailing, but she could never defeat the master, which is me." he said smirking. Hermione liked nothing better to smack him but she resisted the urge.

"You're going to have to wait until I'm released to get back into the house part. Many ancient charms and such are guarding it. Now go away and leave me in some peace and quiet." he said. Hermione threw him a look and walked out. He had agreed after all and was even going to let her into the Manor...though she didn't know how good of an idea this was going to be.

"I said get back! Do you want to be eaten by a giant plant because if you do step right on up here." Draco snapped angrily.

The next day Hermione had somehow persuaded the Healer that Draco was alright and they should give the room to someone who actually needed it. Needless to say, he was not happy about that.

Draco was breaking through all the charms and stuff to be able to get in through the front door and there was a lot. Hermione kept wanting to help and twice he had to save her from poisonous grass. He seriously contemplated leaving her out there.

They finally got to the front door and Hermione followed Draco through the huge, well decorated and furnished foyer and into the hallway where his huge bedroom was. Hermione noticed it was very green and grey and had little personal decorations. Draco pulled her into the walk in closet.

"What are you-" Hermione asked him before he grabbed her arm and they apparated away from the manor.

"WHAT THE-" she started before he told her to be quiet in a rude way.

"Shut up and stay here. I'll be right back. I need to check something." He said and left the small closet they had appeared in. They arrived on the inside of a nice, white, two story house. Draco walked out looking relieved and told her she could come out.

"Why aren't we at the manor?" Hermione demanded. "That was the deal Malfoy."

"This is my house. No way was I going to be stuck in that huge place with my mother, who is still mourning over my father, wandering around drunk. I needed my space so I set this up. I can apparate to here only from my closet," Draco explained. Hermione didn't want to admit it, but that was kind of clever.

"Why did you have to look inside?" She asked curiously.

"There is someone else living here alright! Quit with the questions." He said and walked away to the kitchen.

"Who else is living here?" Hermione said.

"None of your business." Draco conjured up a scrappy blanket and threw it on the couch with a smirk. "That is your bed."

"No."

"Yes! You didn't specify and you should be lucky I'm doing this for you. If you don't want it you can use the floor. Or better yet I'll owl up Potter and have him come get you."

"You're a git. And you sort of have to do this for me."

"Well I don't have to. I could kill you right now but that would just cause so many questions and I don't have time for them. Now stay here and do…whatever. Don't come find me, I have important business to do." he said and walked out of the room, muttering about how he couldn't believe he was going to be living in such close quarters with a mudblood for who knows how long.

He could already see that Hermione staying here was going to be a problem. He couldn't risk Victoria finding out. No, he shouldn't risk it. He could do whatever he wanted. Draco was just worried what his mother would do. But then again, maybe that would be a good thing if dear Vicky found out. Perhaps she'd leave him. Draco sighed. He mustn't get his hopes up.

Draco also didn't want Hermione to figure out if he started falling for her. UGH! He needed to get that notion out of his head. That wasn't going to happen. He was just a decent guy that saw enough deaths for a lifetime when he was only 17. Victoria was gone on a trip to someplace, she'd been gone a week already. Draco had no idea where she was or when she was coming back but hopefully not soon.

He went into his potion work room and sealed the charms so Hermione couldn't get in. Draco couldn't risk her holding something else over him, especially something important as this. He got to work on the special potion.

Draco feared for the person _they_ were going to give this to. It was an awful potion, also very complicated. _They_ are Victoria's parents who are also old death eaters.

They wanted him to make them a potion that they were going to give to someone for killing Victoria's mother's only brother. This was a bit drastic in Draco's mind but he figured they had nothing else to do now that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was gone. Besides from causing havoc in muggle communities.

They learned Draco was skilled at potions, from learning by the best in their minds, Severus Snape. Snape's name was cleared by Potter but most people, namely death eaters, didn't believe that he was helping Dumbledore, but Draco knew it was true. He wasn't that skilled in potions, to be honest. He just had all the equipment and ingredients to make it.

Anyways, they are forcing him to make this potion or else they would forbid him from marrying their daughter. Draco would have liked nothing better, but his mother's wrath over him was too strong and he feared what she would do. Narcissa had been a bit reckless lately. He was being blackmailed by everyone! He was an adult yet his life was being controlled still.

He didn't mind making it because it took all of his focus and took his mind off other things. He stirred it 3 and ¾ times while saying an incantation. He was now done for the day and let the sickly green lump sit overnight where it would ooze into a liquid again. Draco walked to the door but paused. He could stay in here a little longer, maybe experiment a little. Anything to avoid Granger. Yes that's what he would do.

**A/N: Are the chapters too long? I usually write chapters with less word count but there's so much going on that I added to them! Let me know in a review :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Draco snuck downstairs to see if Hermione had fallen asleep yet. To his dismay she was asleep on the couch which she had enlarged and added tons of pillows and blankets to.

He stomped back upstairs and went to bed himself, forgetting that he was hungry. But all night he tossed and turned, what had he been thinking by letting a mublood stay in his house? He ended up getting only a few hours of sleep. In the morning, he was woken up by banging noises in the kitchen.

Draco shuffled downstairs, without getting dressed out of his satin, green pajamas, and saw Hermione pulling a pan away from a house elf who was obviously trying to cook Draco's breakfast.

"What are you doing!" he yelled at her.

"You are despicable! Making house elves make you breakfast and who knows what else. They should be treated with respect and look what she's wearing!" Hermione growled at him, finally letting go of the pan. The house elf went back to work.

"Yes, well they do more than cook breakfast. Which by the way, Kinky, she shall not be getting any of the wonderful breakfast you make. And Granger guess what else? I have more than one." He sneered, picking up a steaming coffee.

"You git! You act as if you own them. They have their own rights!" Hermione argued, remembering S.P.E.W.

"I do own them. Now be quiet, you're ruining my morning," Draco said and sat down at the table, picking up the Daily Prophet. He wasn't planning on reading it. He never read it. He held it up to pretend to read until she huffed.

"You're such a prat." She said and stomped out of the room.

"Kinky, you are not to give her any of your magnificent food nor take any orders from her nor help her in any way. Understand," He said, tossing the newspaper back on the table.

"Kinky understands, sir. Here is your breakfast," she said and scurried off to another room. Draco enjoyed the delicious breakfast. He thought about what actually would happen if Victoria came home but didn't want to think about the consequences so he turned his thoughts to something else. After he was done, Hermione came in and stood near the table.

"I need to go back to Malfoy Manor's forest. My things are there," she said.

"That's too bad. I have no intentions of going back there right now." Draco said. She huffed and walked out of the room. He smiled to himself. Annoying her was fun.

Draco wondered what Weasley did that was so bad. Back at Hogwarts they were inseparable almost, it was disgusting. He remembered her tear streaked face back in the forest. Ron had done something bad, the mere memories of him made her cry.

He was feeling uncomfortable thinking about this. He supposed he could try to make a deal with her. Draco wasn't the gutlesss, cold hearted ferret everyone thought him to be. He had some feelings.

He knocked on the bathroom door she went into. He thought he heard a soft sob, but it was gone. Draco might have even imagined it.

"What?" she said in a hard voice.

"I really don't want to go back into my forest for…er…certain reasons, none of them having to do with you. But if you need clothes and other things I suppose we can go out to the village and buy some." Draco said. He was slightly revolted on how he sounded. He sounded sickly kind.

Apparently she thought so too because she opened the door to reveal a small crack and stared at him. "Really?"

"Yes." he replied. Hermione's eyes had the faintest trace of tears under them, he had been right. She noticed Draco looking at her eyes and shut the door in his face.

"I'd rather have my own things but, sure, that'd be nice. Give me a minute and we can go." she yelled through the door.

"There is a catch though. You have to tell me what happened between you and Weasley." he said and shrugged, even though she couldn't see him. He was simply curious.

There was a pause but she finally said, "Fine."

Draco went upstairs to change clothes for himself. He grabbed a bag of galleons and went downstairs to find Hermione standing by the door, ready, but eyeing him curiously.

They apparated to Diagon Alley. He gave her half of the galleons in his bag.

"I don't need this much." she said, staring at the large pile that filled her hands. "And I'd rather use my own money," Hermione added as an afterthought. She stuffed them in her pockets anyway, knowing that Malfoy had plenty more galleons than that.

"Take it anyway. I don't know how long you will be staying and I definitely don't want to smell the stink coming off of you, so you need new clothes."

"I do not stink and my old ones were just fine!"

"Whatever you say. Meet me back here in two hours and while you are gone get something to eat. I have some business to attend to." He said and strode off.

Once he was out of her sight he backtracked and went down Knockturn Alley. The farther Draco went in, the darker the stone streets became and less people were around. He gripped his wand more tightly and waited, warily eyeing a small witch in the corner who seemed to be muttering nonstop to the brick in the wall. A mouse ran to the left of him and out of sight. When he turned back around, he jumped. Two figures covered by black robes appeared in front of him.

"Startled? That's never good is it, Amalia?" The taller of the two said to his wife. They reminded Draco very much of The Lestranges. Amalia was fierce while her husband, Evand liked to intimidate people. These frightening people were Victoria Raros's parents.

"Do you have it?" Draco asked. He wanted to spend as less time as possible with these people.

"Yesss. Is it going well?" Amalia asked handing over darkened piece of parchment with faded ingredients on it.

"Very. Payment?" Draco said lightly looking between them. He got only parts at a time of the instructions for the potion.

"Don't you have enough money as it is?" Amalia hissed.

"No, I am on my own now and I need to pay for these ingredients myself. Some of them are very tricky to get with the Ministry tightening security and all because of you two," Draco replied with some bullshit story. Amalia snorted.

"Are you telling us that Narcissa has given you no money?" Evand eyed questionably.

"Oh no. I have a fair amount, but I have to know I am doing this for a bigger purpose than we already discussed." he said. Evand handed over a few galleons and went to get Amalia, who wondered off and was now causing a scene a little ways down involving squawking ravens, thick smoke, and the muttering witch. Draco was gone before they turned back around to say farewell.

Draco smirked to himself while walking to the Leaky Cauldron. He ordered a firewhiskey and sat there a while in the corner until it was time to get Hermione. He felt the thick parchment paper in the inside pocket of his robes. The anxiety built up for him until it was too much to think about. Draco walked back out to the spot they departed and saw Hermione was already there waiting with a few bags in her hands. She held out the change.

"Keep it," he said gruffly. She was about to protest but instead shut her mouth, shot him a pleading look which took Draco by surprise, and dashed inside the nearest shop which was very small. He saw her crouch behind a bookshelf.

Draco turned around confused and saw a smug looking Ron Weasley strolling along his way. He understood her pleading look. "Don't say anything," it silently said. Hermione didn't want him to know she's there. Well Draco was going to make some fun out of this.

"Ah Weasley. From now on you should be more grateful and acknowledge others superior to you," Draco drawled from where he was standing.

"As in you? Fat chance." Ron snorted but he wasn't paying attention very well. It seemed like he was looking for someone in the crowds. How rude.

"I see you're intelligence hasn't changed at all." Draco pressed on, looking for some sort of measly distraction from the stress of the potion.

"And why is that!" Ron flared up like Draco wanted him to.

"Because I'm about to jinx and you don't even have you wand out." Malfoy gloated. Before Ron registered what he said Draco put the dancing legs curse on him.

"MALFOY!"

Draco was about to say something else but saw a flash of dark brown hair with a single green streak in it in the crowd. Hoping it wasn't Victoria who had the same exact hair, he dashed into the shop Hermione went into, grabbed her wrist, and apparated back to his house with her.

Before they left though Hermione saw a certain vivid head of red hair making her way to the dancing Ron. A rainbow of colors shot out of her wand at Ron from behind before Hermione's sight changed back to the small closet.

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading so far! It'd be really great if you left a review ;) The next chapter should be up Wednesday and I also have several more chapters written that will be up within the next week! **


	6. Chapter 6

"Why did you come running in after you did that to Ron?" Hermione asked as she put the bags on top of the couch.

"I thought I saw someone I do not want to see right now." Draco replied coolly.

"Oh. Thanks anyway. For jinxing Ron." Hermione said with difficulty. He replied with a grunt and walked to the kitchen, opening cabinets randomly and closing them before he could look inside.

"You know what, I changed my mind. Let's go get your things from the forest and stay out of the house for tonight. My..uh, roomate might be back and I'm sure you don't want to meet…it." he said lamely, not wanting to give away 'it' as a girl.

"Okay, but what was the point of buying those clothes then?" Hermione asked, cautious of why he was suddenly being a civil human being.

"I didn't go there for you. I had to meet someone for lunch and needed to get rid of you. No way I'm letting you stay here all day by yourself. If you are going to be staying with me, unfortunately, I can't stand to look at those hideous clothes anyway. Now come on." he hissed. _Well, at least he's back to normal,_ she thought.

They apparated back to his house. He went in, checked the whereabouts of his mother, and went to inform his butler that they would be staying the night while she gathered her things from the forest. They went out to her tent, which was in shreds, but she came back from inside it carrying a small bag, looking pleased with herself.

"Is that why you had to come back? For a purse? What a waste of time," He said appalled.

"No. It has an undetectable enlargement charm on it."

"Oh, well alright then. Come on. I didn't deactivate the night time alarms," he said and led her upstairs to a room back inside the Manor.

"You'll be sleeping here for tonight. Do not come out of this room unless with me. My mother cannot know you are here unless you want to be injured by a drunk woman who hates mubloods. The door over there is the bathroom." Draco said and strolled out into the hallways. He went to inform his mother he was here for the night and went to bed himself.

Hermione sat on the bed and looked around. She almost felt sorry for Draco's childhood. This house was the opposite of the Weasley's homely atmosphere, filled with family and friends with haphazard magical cookware moving around constantly. She fell asleep on the side of the bed, curled up to make herself seem small compared to the huge bed. It felt so weird, being here at the Manor. It almost felt like she was a well treated prisoner, but of course she wasn't. She could leave whenever she wanted. But the thing was, Hermione didn't want to. It wasn't pleasant being around him, but Draco was slightly more mature than his days at Hogwarts. Plus, she was still distancing herself from Ron and everyone else.

Draco and Hermione arrived at his house in the early morning. Again, he had to go inside and see if his roommate was there while Hermione waited outside, clutching the familiar beaded purse. It felt like her lifeline almost. His roommate wasn't there so he let Hermione in. Hermione was starting to wonder what was so bad about this guy. Malfoy was certainly rich enough that he didn't need a roommate for financial reasons.

"I'm going to go work then I'll be down." He said awkwardly and left. Hermione walked around the house for a bit then sat down to dig through her bag for paper.

She wrote letters to Harry, Ginny, and a small one to Luna. She knew Harry would want to know she's alright but Hermione didn't tell him where she was. Hermione also knew she could expect a messy written but genuine response on the back of the letter she wrote.

He was very busy being the Head of the Auror Department. Apparently a couple compared to the Lestranges called the Raro's were on the loose. No one knew how they escaped from Azkaban, but they were very dangerous.

She fixed herself some food. The house elf Kinky and her argued over who got to use the kitchen. Kinky won so Hermione waited to eat. It was a nice house Draco had. It was big but not big enough that you get lost in it. It was richly decorated with Slytherin colors and family heirlooms but lesser than the Manor.

Draco came down later looking tired and worn out. She wondered what he did when he went to 'work.' He had a few dirt smudges on his clothes but she stopped herself from pointing it out to him. He quickly ate his food while she watched him from her spot on the couch. When he was done, Draco sighed and leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, breathing out air he held in.

"Are you alright Draco?" Hermione asked. His eyes popped open. He rather liked the way she said his name. He shook that thought away, anyways that sounded ridiculous. It was just a name.

"Just tired."

"Oh." Hermione said. She noticed he was trying to be civil and somewhat polite.

"You have something you have to tell me." he said with a smirk, looking over at her.

"What is that?" Hermione asked, switching her focus from the letters to him.

"What happened between you and Weasley." he said instantly.

Hermione paused, "Why do you want to know?" she snapped.

"I'm curious. I don't usually jinx people for the fun of it like I did today. And you already agreed to it," Draco said, raising his eyebrows.

"No I didn't! I said maybe." She said, her voice growing louder.

"Wrong. You said 'fine' which is technically agreeing."

"It's a long story and I doubt you have enough time in your oh so busy schedule working," Hermione said.

"I have all night," he said as he stood up and moved to the couch opposite her and stretched his legs out.

"Fine." Hermione talked aloud as she reluctantly relived it.

_Hermione was walking towards a very fancy restaurant. Her heels clacked against the ground as she nervously messed with her hair, pretending to fix it but it was already perfect. She was sure tonight would be the night. The night when Ron asked the big question._

_It was afternoon, they were meeting for lunch. The sun was shining brightly, taunting her on what was about to be. The distance showed signs of rain clouds but she ignored them. Nothing could ruin this day._

_She found Ron waiting for her towards the back of the restaurant. He looked very nice in his dress robes. They were at a wizarding restaurant._

_Hermione has a slight feeling something was wrong. __As usual, she was right, but again she ignored it. Why would something be wrong? _

_They exchanged greetings and sat down. They ordered drinks. Ron looked sort of nervous as he kept picking up the silverware and setting it back down. _

_"Hermione I need to tell you something," he said._

_She hadn't noticed the word 'tell' instead of 'ask.'_

_"What is it?" she said trying very hard to stop the butterflies in her stomach. She willed them to settle down._

_"This is sort of hard to say…" he started._

_Hermione thought to herself that it can't be that hard. It was only four words._

_"Go on," she urged with a smile. He grimaced._

_She thought she was going to hear, "Will you marry me?"_

_But instead she heard the words tumble out of his mouth, "We need to break up."_

_The butterflies were gone. Her face fell. A huge rock sunk into her stomach. Had she heard him right?_

_"What?"_

_"I'm sorry. I don't think this is working out. I-I've met someone else," he said not daring to look in her eyes. He knew she wouldn't take it well. He was right._

_"How can you say that!" She said furiously, not bothering to be quiet. Why would he do this in public?! The tables around them watched closely out of curiosity. _

_"I still love you Hermione, just not in the way you think. We've been together a very long time. It's run it's course."_

_Hermione was heartbroken, tears were threatening to spill from her eyes._

_"I can't believe you! I thought we had been doing great recently." His face flushed red._

_"Actually I've known it's been over for a while. I'm sorry, I didn't know how to tell you. I knew you wouldn't take this well."_

_"You knew!" She said outraged. His face turned even redder, if possible. Hermione always thought she would be the one to break up with him but recently everything had been going great and she had thought a lot more about their future. Ron sat there while she stared at him. She saw him getting his wand out slowly and point it at her under the table. He was trying to calm her down or confuse her._

_Hermione blocked the spell slyly. She was fuming inside and her heart was shattered into a million pieces. How could he do this?_

_She felt so stupid. She had confided in Harry, Ginny, and Luna that she was sure Ron would ask her. Embarrassment flooded through her. She hoped with the pieces of her heart they did not throw a congratulations party._

_"Hello Ron. Hermione, is it?"_

_A girl came out from the shadows. A girl with dark brown hair with a single green streak through it walked into the light shining above their table. Ron slumped down in his seat looking horrified._

*back in reality*

"What did this girl look like?" Draco asked suddenly, interrupting Hermione. It seemed harder to relive it the second time then the first. Her stomach was churning with every emotion she felt that night.

"Why? Like I said, the hair had a green streak. She had a pointed, tan face and was actually sort of ugly." Hermione said.

"I bet," He mumbled. Draco's heart sunk. Unfortunately her knew this girl. This girl named Victoria. And whatever happened that night could not have been good.


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione went back to reliving that night. She didn't want to at all but she figured if she got it all out, it might make her feel better. Actually she doubted that but knew Malfoy would make her continue it. He seemed much more interested now.

_This girl was taller than Hermione but shorter than Ron._

_Not at that moment though, Ron seemed to want to disappear and was slumping down in his seat. He knew if he disapparated it would make the whole situation worse, though he desperately wanted to._

_The girl, Victoria, walked up to Hermione and slapped her hard across the face. Hermione staggered back clutching the wall, having already stood up from the table. It was like Victoria had amplified the pain by magic._

_"Is that what you were going to do to my dear Ron? Because that doesn't go well with me."_

_"No! I wouldn't hit him!" __Hermione said and shot a curse at her, to get Victoria to back up away from her. It was easily deflected. Ron raised his height a little as if about to say something but-._

_Victoria shrieked as if it hit her anyway and shot a well aimed spell at Hermione, who was only about 3 feet away from her. It hit Hermione in the stomach. She doubled over in pain._

*reality*

"She did what!" Exclaimed Draco.

"She hit me with a curse and slapped me," Hermione said softly and slowly, absentmindedly rubbing her cheek and other hand resting over her stomach. She still felt the faintest of the ghost of pain still inside her. This was bizarre, telling Malfoy all of this.

"Wait, you're not pregnant are you?" Draco asked suddenly looking down at her stomach. Hermione shot him a filthy look and muttered a no.

"Sorry" Draco shrugged. Something in his voice said he meant it. That moment was weird, he actually showed emotion, something she had never seen because he was taught to hide it. "Go on."

_Hermione was doubled over in pain. Victoria was about to __shoot another one at her. It was her own version of the Cruciatus Curse. It burned on the inside only, like hottest fire and the coldest ice fighting a fierce and raging battle inside in the specific place of where it hit._

_Her eyes screwed up as she tried to deal with it. It would be over soon she hoped. She had survived Bellatrix, she could surely survive this witch. Hermione attempted to stand straight again and compose herself, but it was difficult._

_Ron stepped in front of Hermione and stopped Victoria._

_"Stop it. Just because we are together now doesn't mean you get to hurt her, Victoria. I still love her, as a friend." Ron said._

_It hit Hermione. Ron had been cheating on her. No wonder he had sort of been avoiding her! Her heart broke more, if possible, into smaller pieces. Ron and her had been together so long and now it was all destroyed._

_"But she was about to hurt you," Victoria said in a fake whine._

_"I suppose I deserve it." he said. _

_"She was the one that kept us from being together these past 2 months!" _

_Victoria aimed another at Hermione, stepping around Ron. It missed but hit the wall. Chunks of the wall hit Hermione, making scratches. She slid down to the floor grasping her stomach. Whatever Victoria used was dark magic because it was agonizing. It was even worse because she had been vulnerable because of Ron._

*reality*

Hermione broke off. "Are you okay?" She asked Draco.

He had been turning steadily paler as she went on. He despised this woman and knew she was vicious but didn't know how evil she really was. Hermione was just an innocent person at the time, and Victoria was only looking for ways to cause trouble and pain.

Draco also knew she was cheating on him but not with Weasley. That was an insult to him! He was way better looking than that red headed weasel. This was another reason not to marry her.

He glanced at Hermione. It was like she was feeling the hurt all over again. Her face turned pale. He felt many things for Hermione, he just couldn't place them. Most of them he never had felt before. Emotions.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Let me continue," she said closing her eyes.

_Hermione was on the floor, now concentrating on breathing slowly. In and out. In and out. She was not going to give that ugly cow the pleasure of knowing how much it was hurting her._

_"Victoria stop it." Ron said sternly. He was very aware that every pair of eyes in the restaurant were on them now. But out of every single one of them, not one got up to help Hermione._

_"But she's the one that has been denying us time together."_

_"No she's not, it's my fault. STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"_

_She raised up her hands in mock defeat. "I'm done."_

_"No I mean the curse you threw at Hermione. Undo it. NOW!" He said angrily._

_Victoria smirked. "I don't know. I think she deserves it. For being a mudblood..."_

_Ron pointed his wand at her. He was serious and Victoria knew it too because she grudgingly lifted the curse. Hermione sat on the floor, slumped against the wall. Still gasping for breath and clutching her stomach. It had stopped but she felt like she couldn't move._

_"'Mione? Are you okay?" Ron asked while he kneeled down next to her. She shot him a look of purest loathing. She took all the strength left in her and apparated away on the spot._

_Hermione arrived at her parents house first but couldn't face them. It was the first safe place she thought of._

_She sat under a tree crying her eyes out, exhausted. How could that of happened? It couldn't possibly be real. But she knew it had to be because of her slightly stinging cheek. Hermione wasn't usually one for crying sessions, but she couldn't help it. Everything bad recently she'd held in and it flowed out. _

_She had to get away. Her parents pulled in the driveway in their car. Hermione was in the backyard sitting on her favorite reading bench._

_Hermione apparated away to London, in front of a book shop. It was crowded but the best place to go, to be unnoticed, was in an area full of people. It was raining there, drenching her dress, but she didn't care. She cried silently, looking at the sky, not moving. The muggles with their black umbrellas walked around her._

_The sky had always been something to soothe her and that day it was an interesting color of grey. And the cloud she was looking at so intently was shaped as a serpent. Then Ron appeared. She didn't know how he found her!_

_They argued fiercely. Hermione was about to jinx him in front of the muggles. Ron didn't want her to get in trouble but then she called him a big headed git. He took Hermione back to Harry's and Ginny's. Ginny and Luna let her out the back door where she found herself at Malfoy forest._

*reality*

Hermione stopped abruptly. She probably could have went on. She was about to say why she had apparated there, that she thought Ron was like Malfoy, but she stopped herself. Their new relationship was sort of friendly. She didn't want to ruin it.

Before Draco knew what was going on she stopped talking, then burst out crying and was out the door running. He started running after her, yet she was fast. He didn't know why she took off all of a sudden, maybe it was just girls.

She had run a long ways, but then stopped abruptly and sat down leaning against a large tree, crying into her hands.

"Err, Granger?" he croaked softly. Draco didn't know what to do and stood there awkwardly.

"I-I'm sorry. I d-didn't mean to-to do this, especially in front of y-you. It's j-just…" she said and hid her face with her knees drawn up. Draco sat next to her and held out a handkerchief. She took it but didn't use it.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't m-mean too. It just came out and h-hurt like it did that night. And it was like the curse began to revive itself and the place where it hit started throbbing... I'm so sorry." she said. He didn't understand why she kept apologizing. It wasn't her fault.

"Umm, it's okay. Everything's fine now. There are no curses and Victoria is not here," Draco said hoping with all his might Victoria did not show up here tonight.

She sniffed in reply. Hermione kept her hands on her face. She kept reliving the worst parts of the night, vivid flashes crossing through her mind. The bright green stripe in her hair, the red curse that hit the wall, the stinging of the pieces of wall chunks hitting her.

Her mind raced a hundred miles. Why did she even tell all that to Draco? As if she could really, truly trust him. Regret filled her, but she couldn't focus on that, her emotions towards Ron were bubbling hot inside her, mixed in with the anger towards Victoria.


	8. Chapter 8

Draco didn't know how long he had been sitting next to a crying Hermione. The tears kept coming. He couldn't think of anything to comfort her so he just sat next to her.

He felt bad though he didn't know why. It wasn't his fault that Victoria or Ron did those things. He did feel bad about lying which he shouldn't because he lies all the time. And to think he still has to get married to that monster Victoria though! But he has no choice.

Suddenly Hermione crawled forward, away from under the tree and laid back in the grass. Draco saw her face was shining with water but she had stopped crying. He slowly laid down next to her being quite tired himself.

He looked sideways at her. She was staring at the stars and the moon. The sky. He remembered she said it calmed her so he looked at it too. It was black but had the slightest hint of a dark blue. The closer he looked, he realized there were barely visibly grey clouds floating along too. The stars were bright and shining. As well as the moon. It was beautiful.

It suddenly struck him that there was a way to keep Victoria out. He flicked his wand towards the outward protecting enchantments and added that she could not get in.

Draco and Victoria had been the only ones able to pass through them along with anyone they brought with them. Now she could not get in. He wasn't worried what she'd say if she couldn't get in. He was good at making up lies instantly if needed, but Draco doubted she'd come back yet.

He looked back to Hermione. She was staring at him. The moonlight shone onto his white hair and pale face. His lips twitched up as if he wanted to smile at her but his cold, steel eyes melted into a clear pool of water because of her warm brown eyes.

Hermione felt at peace laying there next to him. After him being an enemy at Hogwarts and a mere victim during the battle where Voldemort was defeated, she'd never thought she would find the man behind all that, never less be sort of friends, and certainly not be alone here with him. She felt safe here with him, probably because it was secluded and protected with ancient spells. Yet it was something she never felt with Ron. Sometimes with Harry but that was pure and strict sibling type love.

"Thanks for listening to me," She whispered in a raspy, soft voice but he heard her perfectly. Draco didn't say anything back. It benefitted him anyways to get more information on Victoria's affair.

She gazed back into the sky and without meaning to her eyes became heavy, so she closed them and fell asleep.

Draco looked over and was surprised to find her asleep. He sat up not really knowing what to do. If he left her alone sleeping out here, he would have to stay too because of common politeness or courtesy or some stupid social rule. And Draco didn't want to sleep on the hard ground. He could leave her but that might be rude. Or maybe if Victoria is at the gate and she sees Hermione. That could turn into something ugly. He huffed, realizing what he had to do. It was awkward situations like this that ruined his day.

He stood up and gently picked her up in his arms. He now could see that her hair wasn't frizzy, those 'frizzies' were a bunch of tiny little curls. He felt rather concerned. Were people supposed to be this light? He remembered that he had to drag Goyle out of the common room once, and he definitely was not light. He supposed he ought to let her sleep and tried to be quiet.

The moonlight lit up the tear marks on her face. He noticed she look almost…delicate. She moved slightly and put her head more towards his chest. He froze when she did this. What if she woke up and found him carrying her inside. What would she think? Would she be freaked out or angry or happy? Probably not happy...Or was she already awake? He hoped not.

He trekked back through the dew covered grass, his long shadow trailed behind him. He got inside through the door with much difficulty and stopped in the living room. Draco decided, with great effort, that she could have his bed for tonight. It had been a rough one for her anyway. He laid her up in his bed and pulled the blankets over her. She stirred again but didn't wake up. She looked so peaceful, unlike earlier. Draco walked back downstairs and collapsed onto the couch opposite her mass of pillows and blankets. He yanked one off her couch and rolled over on his side. He was properly tired, the new instructions for the potion for the Raro's took a lot out of him. He fell asleep, instantly

He felt something weird, the feeling of caring and being nice to someone, something foreign to him. In fact, he almost liked it. For once, Draco drifted off to sleep with a feeling of content.

**A/N: Sorry this is a bit of a shorter chapter, but exciting things are coming up!**

**It'd really help a lot if you left a short review of what you thought, but there were about 100 views this weekend so that makes me happy! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning Hermione woke up feeling very comfortable and realized she was in Draco's bed. She didn't remember coming up here and there was no sign of him. Panicking slightly, the thought that they had slept together passed through her mind but she brushed it off. That would never happen. She got up found her way to the elegant stairs and went downstairs. Draco was passed out on the couch downstairs snoring lightly.

She went into the kitchen and made coffee for her and him, not knowing if he preferred coffee or tea. Hermione wasn't hungry so waited around thinking about the night before until he woke up.

An owl was pecking on the outside window wanting to come in. She hurried outside and untied the letter. It was Harry's owl and as she predicted his reply was scrawled on the back of her previous note.

His letter said:

_Hermione,_

_Hello to you too. And by the way I agree with you on the whole Ron situation. I think he's still messed up in the head after he got hit with that bludger. Ginny has been out for him ever since she read your letter, but he has ran off with that girl, Victoria I think._

_No one had heard from him all week until Ginny found him yesterday while we went shopping at Diagon Alley. Ron was already hit with a type of uncontrollable leg curse. But Ginny still went after him and hit him with some good ones. But that cow of a girl was there and she hit Ginny with a spell. It was dark magic. I've never seen it before. She finally unlifted it once I became involved instantly and threatened her...and maybe also tossed a few spells at her myself, but she got away (one did hit her though!)._

_Well now both Ron and Ginny at St. Mungo's. Ginny is fine but Molly has been making a fuss over it, and she won't let the healers release her. She's bored (and grumpy) and I'm sure you visiting her would brighten her day. I don't know where you are but please try to come. She's been biting my head off all day. Luna's on a holiday so she's had no one but relatives and I think she's seen enough of them._

_Please try to come, and by the way Ron's here too but he's had no visitors, not even Molly will go see him. I think it's funny, serves him right. He's on a different floor though so you won't see any slimy bit of him._

_Harry_

Hermione stiffled a gasp when she read that Victoria got Ginny too, no doubt with the same curse. She wandered back inside and saw Draco was awake and drinking the coffee she made him.

They were both thinking of saying thanks, Hermione for his bed and Draco for the coffee but they caught each other's eye and that said enough for the both of them. Kinky came in and began bustling around.

Draco told her she could give Hermione food now but Hermione refused. Draco wondered if the curse Victoria put on her had an effect on her appetite somehow.

"Can we, or at least I, go to St. Mungo's today? Yesterday at Diagon Alley, right after we left, Ginny cursed Ron but Victoria was there and cursed Ginny," Hermione said. Draco's cup slid out of his hand and broke by his foot which was splattered with coffee. Kinky squeaked and began cleaning it up. He had been right about Victoria being there! He sort of wished he would be wrong once, some things he didn't want to be right about.

"Yeah you can. I can't, have to work, but you can floo there from the Manor," he said while looking down at Kinky and then at Hermione who glared but didn't say anything.

"Okay." she said while he repaired his broken glass from the pieces Kinky picked up.

"We can go in a few minutes to the Manor, only it has the flooing fireplace. Are you ready?"

"Yes." She said. He went upstairs for a few minutes but came back down wearing the same clothes he slept in. They apparated into his closet at the manor. Draco checked and found his mother still sleeping then led her to the fireplace and in a swirling cloud of green, she was gone. Draco shuffled around and knocked over a few things to give the house elves something to do and ate from the fridge. It was much more well stocked than the one at his secret house.

Hermione made her way up to Ginny's room. Harry's letter had been an understatement. Ginny looked furious. Harry was standing back a little while Ginny argued with her mother. Hermione stood by the door and Harry spotted her.

"Look it's Hermione!" he exclaimed and Ginny broke out into a huge smile.

"Hermione!"

"Hi, Ginny. I can't believe you got yourself sent here because you cursed Ron."

"I know and it wasn't my fault! It was that rotten, ugly, big headed-" Ginny started but Harry cut her off by telling her no one wanted to hear how much she hated Victoria because they already knew.

"I was talking about Ron. Anyway, it was well worth it. I'm completely fine now," she said and paused to glare at hr mother who exchanged greetings with Hermione.

"You should've seen his face. It was priceless. Anyways he's going to be staying here a lot longer than me. Good, that'll disrupt their plans to run away together and we can get revenge." Ginny said, casting a glance at Hermione. Molly Weasley opened her mouth as if to say something but closed it again and went outside in the hall, perhaps to go to Ron's room which was on a different floor.

"When did you find that out!" Harry exclaimed.

"When I ditched you at the Quidditch shop. I followed them. They were talking about it, they are really quite disgusting together," she said simply while Hermione laughed a little at a dumbstruck Harry.

"You really should tell me when you do those things so I know when I need to break up a fight you've gotten into," Harry grumbled.

"So Hermione, how are you?" Ginny said, ignoring Harry's grumbling.

"Better. I'm in a safe place and no I'm not telling you where it is." she said to a protesting Ginny.

"But you know I could have the Ministry track you down. They are practically wallowing in my glory of defeating Voldemort." Harry said half jokingly.

"If you do I'll curse you so bad your-" Hermione began but a healer came in and interrupted her to talk to Ginny.

Harry whispered, "You wouldn't dare hex the man who single handedly saved the entire wizarding world."

"A bit full of ourselves today? And watch me Harry James Potter, you know I will." Hermione said raising her wand jokingly.

"Merlin! I almost forgot! Hermione I need to tell you something. It's urgent. Come with me," he said suddenly serious and went into the hall and into a small room when Hermione asked him what was wrong.

"You know the Raro's? The new couple that acts like the Lestranges. Well we got a tip off from a reliable source that they are after you since you killed her only brother in the final battle at Hogwarts. I know you don't want to see Ron, but if you can't absolutely guarantee me you are safe where ever you are I'm going to make you come live with us or have an auror with you at all times." Harry said seriously.

Hermione went to reply but he added, "I know it's a bit extreme but you know how horrible they can be! And I can't lose you, we can't lose you. You can take care of yourself, I know, but I want to take caution with all this."

Hermione thought about it for a moment then told him she was absolutely safe.

"Fine but if anything suspicious happens I want your little otter patronus telling me what's going on. I have a feeling they have people helping them."

"Okay I'll be on the lookout, but I can take care of myself," she said. Harry was going to retort back that she wont be able to if she doesn't get her emotions under control but thought better of it and did not say a word.

They went back to Ginny's room for a while then Hermione left and went downstairs to find an anxious looking Draco waiting for her. Before Hermione could question him he told her she can't directly floo into the Manor's or his house's fireplace, and they needed to get going now.

Hermione thought of asking him if he knew that the Raro's were after her, but doubted that was the reason he wanted to leave. It was probably some time related thing. However, the real reason he wanted to leave was that Victoria was there, and he really did not want to see her. Draco would have to visit her if he made it known he knew she was in St. Mungo's. He still despised he was going to marry her.

Draco had considered killing her and her parents just to get away from their blackmailing and arranged marriage, but Dumbledore had been right on the night he died. Draco Malfoy was not a killer. And not once had he directly killed someone. He couldn't physically do it. He had by blasting them into a wall or others things where they had been injured enough they died. Never had he used the Adava Kedavra curse.

Draco went back to finishing up the potion for the day when they got back. There had been a high pitched screaming sound coming from downstairs the past few minutes. Once he got to a stopping point in the potion, he took off his gloves and mask. He wished he never went downstairs to see why his house elf was wailing.

In the laundry room, Hermione looked panic stricken and about to faint when he walked in. But Draco wasn't worried about that. He was staring stupidly at the house elf who was holding one of her shirts.

The house elf was wailing on the floor, one minute sorrowfully, the next gleefully. It was ashamed and sad it had been set free but gleeful it never had to see the young mister Malfoy ever again! That it never had to take an order from the sneering rat ever again!

"I-I'm so sorry Draco. She was in here and I wasn't thinking and I told her to hold my shirt while I… I'm sorry." She stammered with fear but he was furious.

That blasted house elf knew almost everything! Not as much as the other elves but it knew Draco was making a powerful potion and had his own house that he was hiding from his mother and was avoiding Victoria and now she was free to tell whoever he wanted to.

"Get. Out." he said softly to Hermione, dangerously, emphasizing every syllable. His cold, steel eyes gleaming with malice.

To Hermione, he suddenly became very tall and dangerous, his face etched with madness. He was intimidating. She had never seen him like this. It frightened her severly. After laying next to his under the stars she never dreamed she'd see this side of him again.

"W-what?" she stammered. Hermione felt very small, useless, vulnerable. If he were to cast a spell at her, she didn't even think she could stop it.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU FILTHY MUDBLOOD. YOU RUIN EVERYTHING DON'T YOU. EVERYTHING!" Draco screamed and yelled while pacing around, accidentally knocking something over.

Frightened with tears streaming down her face, Hermione grabbed her small purse while running outside. She apparated as soon as she was away from the enchanted borders. All she wanted to do was to get away from that monster.

Harry was in the kitchen with Ginny who was released later the same day Hermione visited. It was dark out, and he was reading the lies the Daily Prophet continued to print.

"Ginny listen to this, they said that-" Harry started but Ginny hastily got up and went outside. He looked up and followed her.

"Oh my! Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed and ran over to hug her cold friend.

"I need to stay here for a little bit," Hermione whispered.

"Oh course you can. Come inside," Ginny said and with much resemblance to her mother started making a cup of hot tea.

"Hermione, earlier today you said yourself that you had a safe place to stay. What happened to that?" Harry asked.

"Not now Harry!" Ginny said while walking back over to them.

"Harry I know. Just let it go. Please. I thought I did but I was…terribly wrong," she said pleadingly. He did reluctantly drop it and summoned a blanket for her. He was going to find out what happened sooner or later though.


	10. Chapter 10

Hermione woke up on a blow up bed Ginny made for her. She was in the cozy home of the Potters. Her flat was probably empty but she didn't want to go back to it. She could barely think of what happened last night. The few days earlier everything had been going too good. Hermione had been positive Draco had been making an attempt at being nice. Then it all went downhill.

Hermione felt bad. She really hadn't meant to set free the elf. He probably thinks she did... But at the same time she knew Draco was overreacting just a tad bit. Well, maybe not. She hated feeling this vulnerable to everything, especially her feelings that hadn't stopped whizzing in her head since that night with Ron.

Anger, embarrassment, sadness, and very much confused were just a few of the emotions Hermione was feeling. Her emotional range was much bigger than a teaspoon. She laid there thinking for a long time. She heard Ginny and Harry wake up upstairs but didn't get up herself. In fact, she rolled back over and went to sleep thinking that she'd just stay here all day.

Hermione was dreaming. She saw a man, they perfect man for her. No wait there were two men, one had red hair and the other white. Wait no it couldn't be. NO! She wouldn't allow it and chased them away.

Hermione woke up startle, shaken from her dream. None of those losers could be the perfect man for her, definitely not. She'd rather date anyone else but them. The dream probably wasn't showing her perfect men, Hermione reasoned, just men she hated at the moment. Ginny was standing over her and realized Ginny had woken her up.

Harry walked in and looked confused. He said, "There's someone here to see you and they, err want to see you right now."

Hermione sat up. Who could be here? Ehh they can wait. Hermione rolled over saying, "Tell them to go away."

"Well I already did but they insisted and said it's highly important, something to do with work. Not your work but theirs," Harry continued.

She sat up and glared. "Fine, but tell them I need a few minutes to get ready."

"Nah, he can wait. He's out by the back, by our big tree." Harry said and left for work.

Hermione quickly pulled on some normal clothes, not the ones she had been wearing the night before and washed her face. She needed to get a grip or else those tear streaks might become permanent.

She walked outside to the back. Hermione couldn't see who it was because the sun was shining too brightly. She got a few feet away from him then abruptly turned around. Too late, he already saw her.

"Wait! We need to talk."

"No we don't. I don't have anything to say."

"Well I do and you need to listen," Draco said. Hermione scowled.

Who did he think he was coming back expecting her to listen? It was he who yelled at her the day before. She didn't know why him yelling yesterday had such an effect on her. Maybe it came back to her vulnerability or he ruined the only place she had felt safe at for a little while.

"I may have overreacted last night but-" Draco started.

"Yes you did," Hermione said.

"Listen! I feel sort of bad about it but you don't know how much those elves know about things I don't want certain people to know about."

"What do you want Malfoy?" She said. Yep, he had ruined his chances yet again. She used his last name, never a good sign.

"Well I was going to offer for you to come back to my house but obviously I can see you like it better here," He said. Hermione perked up. He wanted her to come back.

"Yeah, I do. And why would you want me to come back?" Hermione replied, not knowing why she said that. She actually did want to go back. It was safe there, with him.

"Our little deal. That picture on your blasted muggle thing that flashes," he said. Hermione remembered. He didn't come back because he wanted her to come back. It was all because of his stupid reputation and the Ministry.

"Go away. I'll get rid of it on one condition, never let me see you again," She said serenely and pointed her wand to him before going back inside. She heard him leave. Good, she never wanted to see him again anyway. Giving her false hope about things. About them. Well not anymore.

"What did he want?" Ginny asked.

"He wanted me to join his work, I guess they need at least one smart person there. I don't know what he does so I turned him down." Hermione said.

"Oh. He's a git anyway."

"Don't I know it." Hermione muttered to herself.

Draco apparated back to his house. He had tried to be nice and see if she wanted to come back, he had liked her company, but of course since she's stubborn, she refused.

He had managed to get the house elf that Granger set free to stay and live with him but she didn't have to follow Draco's orders. She could just live there with the others or is she worked Draco would pay her, remembering Dobby from Hogwarts. That way the stupid little thing won't go telling all his secrets to everyone.

He stomped upstairs to work more on the potion. The Raro's were getting anxious. Draco had half a mind to think that all they cared about was getting revenge on this person because it was merely something to do. They didn't know, or care, where their daughter was. But then again, neither did Draco.

Draco sighed. He was so confused. He now obviously had feelings for Granger and she hated him. And then there was the whole ordeal with Victoria. He had been hiding from her recently, but she hadn't bee home in forever. That was ok with him though. Granger. What was with him lately? Did he really want to have feelings for a stubborn know-it-all. Except she wasn't a stubborn know-it-all in a bad way. In fact, it was kind of nice to be around someone who didn't place dumb or wear revealing clothes, like Victoria.

Maybe he could break up with her because he 'saw' her with Ron. That might work, but then Draco would have to deal with her parents. They might not be that bad though, all they want is their potion.

He tried to focus more on his potion but after a few more minutes he realized he'd been gazing off. He got to a point in the directions where he could stop and slumped downstairs. It was much quieter now.

Grudgingly, he apparated to Malfoy Manor to see his mother. Fortunately she was out of the house. He walked along the huge house, it's beauty and magnificence not bothering him at all. He had grown up here, he was used to it. This house was full of dark secrets and lies and horrible memories.

Draco stopped abruptly, scowled, and turned around. He had just walked into the room Hermione had stayed in. It was so weak of him to think that she could trigger his emotions. Emotions that he never thought were there.

Suddenly the fireplace glowed green. He turned, expecting to see his mother, but instead he saw the Raro's.

"How did you get in? That fireplace is blocked off to everyone except Malfoy's," Draco said surprised.

"Not so happy to see us are you?" Amalai said.

"No, it's not that. I just have to make sure all our security charms are working." Draco said, covering his surprise.

"I'm sure we are the only ones who know how to get through it. Not to worry. Victoria might, I don't know. Haven't heard from her in a while," Evand said with a piercing glare.

They both were intimidating. Draco knew he could be too but now he had to keep his cool, and his face impassive. That was not a problem though, he was well trained to hide his emotions.

Amalai cocked her head sideways and glared at him stepping closer. Her holey, black robes trailing behind her.

"That's why we came here Draco. We need to see her. We need her help and if we don't get it from Victoria we will require you to do it. And I'm sure you cannot pull it off as well as she would be able to. Give her that potion you have been making and tell her to bring it to us. Pray for yourself that it is correctly done," she said in a raspy but yet still smooth voice. It was almost scary how alike her and Bellatrix were.

"I don't know where she is. She left three weeks ago. I haven't heard from here either," Draco said.

"Find her. Tell her to meet us in Knockturn Alley the next full moon. I expect her to be there. If she is not, do not expect any mercy from us. This is very important. We are completing our plan and everything has to be done right. We must go now. Do not make any mistakes Draco Malfoy. If you do, it will be the death of you. I will make sure of that," Amalai whispered but Draco could hear every word perfectly. The couple stepped back into the fireplace and were gone with a whir of green.

Draco ran upstairs to his closet and apparated to his own house, the one place that was safe that he hoped they didn't know about. A huge rock settled in his stomach. Those were not empty threats. And he had to find that blasted girl while the potion wasn't even done yet!


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione bit her lip and frowned. She stared at the letter in her hands. It was yet another job application. It was a bit odd as she had never heard of these people before. The letter was written it very fancy writing. It said:

_Hermione Granger, we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for a job interview. This is a once in a life time chance that you were selected, think about the wonderful opportunities you'll have once you get the job. The president of our company was very pleased with your history from Hogwarts and your résumé. Please come to Diagon Alley and wait at the bookstore at 6 on the nearest Friday._

_ Regards,_

_ Vivienne Ward_

"What is it?" Ginny asked noticing Hermione's expression. She showed Ginny the letter.

"Well, it doesn't specify about the job and it doesn't name the bookstore either. I mean of course I know the one they are talking about but it's a little suspicious."

"I see your point, but it doesn't hurt to go see what it's about. It says it's a once in a lifetime opportunity so I say you should do it." Ginny said. Hermione didn't know what to do. She didn't have a very good feeling about it because of all the missing details but they might be vague on purpose. She really shouldn't pass this kind of thing up.

"I'll think about it." Hermione said finally.

Meanwhile Draco wasn't having very much luck. He still needed to focus on the final instructions of the potion, they were the most complicated. And he had to get this right, or else.

And on top of that he still hadn't found Victoria, now he scowled at hearing the name, even in his head. Draco hadn't heard a word from her. A big puff of smoke emitting from the cauldron indicated that the potion was completed. He wiped his eyebrows and sighed. He carefully spooned it into a flask. All that hard work for such a small thing.

He tucked it into his cloak pocket and apparated to the Malfoy Manor where he set off for his search for his hopefully-not-almost-wife.

"Hang on I'm coming!" Ginny yelled. There was a continuous pounding on their door. Ginny opened the door, saw who it was, and yelled for Harry.

"Nice to see you too," the boy at the door sneered. Harry came to the door but before he could question him Draco got to the point.

"Listen, no time for questions. I know Ron took off with this girl Victoria, but the thing is I'm engaged to her. I'm not going to hurt Weasley, but I really need to find Victoria so tell me where they went."

Harry took it all in for a moment. Draco and he were on speaking terms since the end of the war when Harry got him out of the Azkaban sentence. Harry sometimes still couldn't get the scared image of Draco's face out of his head when he was about to not kill Dumbledore or when he was crying in the sink and Harry hit him with that deadly curse from the Half-Blood Prince.

"Hurry! I don't have all day," Draco said in a voice that indicated slight hysteria.

"All I know is that they were getting far away. My guess is they went to a warm place, a beach maybe." Harry said. Draco nodded and was gone.

But Draco didn't remember that Hermione was living with the Potters. Hermione asked Ginny who was at the door. Ginny rolled her eyes, but Hermione was eavesdropping and froze on the spot. Draco never told her he was engaged. He didn't have a roommate at all but a fiancée!

"Hermione what's wrong?" Ginny asked. Hermione had thought about running again, that was usually how she solved most of her problems but she embraced Ginny in a hug. Her heart lurched.

"Hermione?"

"Ginny you're not going to like this. I think…I think I like Draco Malfoy." Hermione said while looking up, a few tears glistening off her face. Ginny was not happy with this new information but she had to back her friend up. She knew trying to talk her out of it wasn't going to work as she tried to talk her out of dating Ron.

"Hermione, you know I don't like it but I guess it's your choice. It's going to be okay."

"It'll never work out…Well I know something for sure, I'm going to that job meeting," Hermione said.

Draco huffed. He had looked for Victoria everywhere he could think of. After a very quick trip to the hospital and getting a young healer to go into Ron's room to see if there was a girl in there, he left before anyone saw him and went back to the Manor. He rummaged through the kitchen, looking for a drink, when a chair spun around. In it sat a girl. The girl he'd been looking for!

"Draco, why can't I get into our house?" Victoria said.

*Friday at 6:00 in Diagon Alley*

Hermione walked briskly to the bookstore. She was late and she was never late. Afraid of making a bad impression, she sat across from a woman with dark red hair, unlike Ginny's, and was smiling a sickly sweet smile, like Umbridge's.

"Hello, are you Hermione Granger?" She said in a voice to match her smile.

"Hello, yes I am. You must be Vivienne Ward." Hermione said shaking her hand.

"Yes. How about we get dinner?"

"That sounds great." On the way there they talked lightly and Hermione could tell Vivienne was nice but fake. She had to hear Hermione's opinions first before agreeing with her.

To Hermione's delight she learned the job was an Unspeakable at the Ministry of Magic, which is why the letter didn't explain much. Hermione told her she was slightly interested. They sat down at a table outside. Vivienne started digging through a small bag she had with her and pulled out something.

Vivienne looked at Hermione, "This is a special brew I made up, and it's the best. Do you want to try some?"

Hermione was reluctant, she remembered Mad-Eye Moody said to only drink things you prepare yourself but this girl was from the Ministry and it might be rude to refuse.

"Ok," Hermione agreed slowly. Vivienne smiled, if possible, larger and poured some into Hermione's glass then into her own. They raised their glasses in a toast for the Ministry. Vivienne coughed off to the side while Hermione took a gulp.

Hermione quickly stood up, knocking her chair over. Something was wrong, she knew that instantly. Vivienne put her glass down, she hadn't drunk any of it but Hermione barely noticed that. She took a sharp intake of breath and Vivienne stood up horrified.

Hermione was repressing the urge to scream. She knew it would only get worse. It was like the Cruciatus Curse in potion form. It burned and stung, her body filled with pain, the worst of it was in the pit of her stomach. It was a type of poison that she had drunk. Extreme pain started to swell inside of her.

"Oh no! Hermione that's not the right one, I'm so sorry, let me take you to St. Mungo's." Vivienne said in a rushed voice and grabbed Hermione's arm and apparated away.

But where they arrived seconds later wasn't the white walls of the hospital. It was the dark, grimy streets of Knockturn Alley. Hermione was now on the ground in silent pain. She knew she was in danger but was in too much pain to apparate away. She shouldn't have trusted this girl whose red hair was turning darker and she was growing taller. The sickly sweet smile wasn't sweet anymore, it was a sneer of delight.

"Great job Victoria," a deep voice rang out. Hermione's head jerked up, pure terror settling in her throat.

Piercing black eyes looked into Hermione's and Amalai Raro stated, "You killed my brother."


	12. Chapter 12

Draco knew their plan. He knew where they'd be. He was supposed to be there too but he would only be making a brief appearance. And it would possibly get himself killed. But he was a changed man and closed his eyes to apparate.

He met Victoria, who had taken Polyjuice potion and was donning the look of someone else, to give her the potion. A crack behind him indicated the Raro's had arrived. They insisted he stay as the whole family should be there for such a special moment, however Draco would have liked nothing more than to leave.

"Mother, she isn't screaming yet," Victoria whined when she got back with Hermione. Draco stood behind the little group, instantly regretting everything. He never would have done it if it was for someone he knew. This had to stop but he didn't know if he had enough guts to do it. Amalai frowned. "Just wait," she said, lowering her daughter's raised wand but raising her own unknowingly. Hermione was lying on the cold hard stone in the dark dirty street of Knockturn Alley. It was almost night abandoned.

Hermione had her eyes squeezed shut and her hands over her stomach, fighting the urge to cry out which is what they wanted but a small sound escaped. That was it. No more. He didn't care anymore. So Draco walked towards Hermione, ignoring Victoria, who said "What are you-?" but before she had time to finish, Draco had disapparated with Hermione and an enraged Harry Potter arrived behind them. Harry had gotten a tip off from sketchy wizard who was in Knockturn Alley "for a stroll." He captured them for the Ministry. All three angry people with black clothing and hissing mouths cursed at Draco Malfoy who was long gone while being transported away.

Draco appeared with Hermione at her little tent in the woods. He couldn't go into the house. His mother will have heard what he had done and would be mad. More than furious. And he couldn't risk to be found. St. Mungo's wouldn't know how to treat his potion that he made. Draco hardly knew if he'd be able to! Looking at Hermione made him sick. He did this to her. He was causing this pain, as if she needed any more in her life. If only he hadn't made those evil, vile people anything at all!

She didn't move. She wasn't screaming but moaned every so often. Her body was tensed in a ball, sheltering her stomach. Hermione realized she was away from danger but still in pain. Though Draco could only imagine how much. He picked her up and went into the tent which was repaired, and sat in the middle of the floor with her in his lap, getting out the antidote he had made in case the Raro's had gotten mad and made him take the potion himself. A bezoar wouldn't work this time, unfortunately.

He gently held her as she sat up and started to slowly rock back and forth and shake her head no. "I-I'm sorry," his voice cracked. His voice never cracked. "This will help." It wouldn't be instant relief but it would stop it.

They didn't speak. Or do anything really. He held her as she slowly rocked back and forth, her eyes still squeezed shut. It had been possibly hours but she spoke. "It hurts," she said, not caring who was there with her. He wandered if she knew if was him.

"I know. It will get better," he said with pain in his eyes at seeing her but she didn't see that he was also hurting. His heart was hurting. Why was he a bad person? Why did he do things like this?

For some reason she smiled, well it was more like a grimace, after hearing his voice. He didn't like that because he was the one that did this to her, unknowingly of course, but still it was he who made it. But she didn't know that. She didn't care either. All she knew was that she was in pain by those awful people and he was there with her. So Hermione knew she was safe with him.

They stayed there, on the floor of the magically enlarged tent, all night. It was dawn outside. He titled her position back and hesitated before lifting up her shirt slightly, looking at her stomach for the faded coloring. The poison was gone. But the side effects of the antidote were starting. He picked her up and put her on the bed. She rolled over away from him, facing the wall and moaning very quietly to herself. Perhaps she thought he couldn't hear it, but he could.

Guilt welled up inside him still and threatened to spill out all over the place. The Raro's were contained at the moment but the question was would they escape? If they did, they would hunt him down until they died because there wasn't anything else to do and they wanted revenge on him now as well.

Hermione started to cough, just a bit, and he inwardly winced. It was starting. The effects were basically the symptoms of a bad cold. So, bad coughing would be first then she'd be hot and cold then after that completely exhausted.

Hermione coughed more, having to sit up to do it, but with her eyes open. It stopped and she looked around with wide eyes, finally resting them on him but not saying a word, then falling back into the bed, rolling over to sleep. It might have looked like she was asleep last night but she was up all night in pain, he knew.

He walked around and put up enchantments around the tent, to make sure his mother never found them. They were in the middle of the dangerous forest so he didn't think she would. The tent was decorated nicely, still had some interesting magical décor though.

Without realizing what he was doing at first he started to snoop. He went through the food stash, getting something to eat, and then looked through the things. Most of her things were in her purple purse that he couldn't find. There was a huge pile of books that were old and well-read several times resting on a table. He switched on a small radio and the static music filled the tent softly.

He sighed audibly and picked up Hogwarts: A History and began to read. There was nothing else remotely interesting to do! Hermione sat up hours later and Draco had barely noticed she was up. That bloody book wasn't so bad. Kind of interesting and would have been useful for when he was at Hogwarts. No wonder he didn't get away with most things!

Before he could ask how she was, she said in a soft, dry voice, "I'm cold." He nodded and hurriedly went to find some blankets. There was only one. He draped it over her but she was still shivering. He sat down on the bed, unsure of what to do.


	13. Chapter 13

Hermione slowly sat up though, making sure the blankets were still with her, and leaned up against him. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her and she felt the wonderful warmth immediately.

They stayed like that for a while. Hermione had fallen asleep again, and Draco had summoned his book back to read. The blankets fell off of her as she stirred. He looked down at her and saw a small smile creep up on her lips. "What?"

She nodded her head towards to indicate the book he was reading. "You always made fun of that book," she said softly. "You had nothing else for me to read," he retorted back, making her smile larger, but then it dropped and he didn't know why.

"Uhh…" he mumbled, "Do you want something to eat?" He asked. She shook her head while looking down, declining.

"Umm…" He continued, looking around the large tent helplessly. He didn't know what to do, didn't know what she needed.

"Draco, it's fine," she said. It really wasn't but he gave up.

"Thi-" he started to say but stopped. He couldn't say that it was his entire fault. He'd just have to suffer silently. Hermione would hate him if she knew it was he who brewed the potion that did this to her, who then was downstairs on his couch.

He paced anxiously then stepped outside when she was asleep again. It was night. He looked up at the twinkling stars through the dense leaves. "Well this is all mucked up," he muttered. His wedding, his future, his everything. One good thing did come from it all though. Draco had got to know Hermione. She was stubborn and annoying, but she was also caring and smart and beautiful.

He sighed and went back in. What was he going to do? She'd be better in a day or so but how was he going to stay alive if the Raro's got loose again? Or better yet, how was Hermione going to stay away from them also? He looked around the bookshelves and found a little portable radio and fumbled with it until static music rang out. It was soft noise to get his mind off of everything possible situation that would lead him to his death.

Hermione's head poked up. She hadn't heard that radio since a certain ginger that she despised listened to it every day. But the song that was playing was the one that her and Harry had danced to. She smiled and watched as Draco swayed to it, oblivious to her staring.

Meanwhile, Ron rushed through the halls of St. Mungos. In and out, that was all he was going to do. Victoria and him were through, though she didn't exactly know that yet.

"Where's Harry Potter," he said to the lady at the front desk. Everyone always knew where the Chosen One was and he'd probably be with Hermione. But what he wasn't expecting when he went into the room was a royally irritated looking Harry sitting on the bed and no Hermione nearby.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"They won't let me leave," he replied shortly.

"Where's Hermione?" Ron said looking around.

"She's not here. We don't know where Draco took her to. We are sure she's safe though. Well, mostly sure," Harry added. Ron ran his hand in his hair looking stressed.

"Listen mate," Harry said after the nurse left, "you might want to leave. I'll owl you when Hermione shows up but there are many people who don't want to see you right now."

"Yeah. Right. Fine," Ron nodded and left. Where was she? He needed to tell her something!

Back at the tent, Hermione's voice was shrill. "They don't know where I am?!" She said worried. Draco backed away from her. At least she was feeling better. Much better. He almost wished she was still sleeping.

"Well no, but I had to get you away from there, didn't I?"

"Yes, but they'll be worried about me. I need to see Ginny," She demanded. Draco stopped himself from rolling his eyes. He was being selfish but he didn't care. If he made an appearance then nothing would go well for him.

"…Fine," He finally agreed, "But then we should go back to my house and stay there for a few days…to make sure you are fully feeling better."

"Fine," Hermione retorted and went to get dressed in another part of the tent. Draco was acting like a little kid. He didn't want to floo to the Potter house, but that was the simplest idea she had to get there. He outright refused to apparate, muttering something about her still being weak, but she ignored him. They finally agreed that she could floo alone and he would apparate there later to bring her back.

Hermione wondered why he still wanted her to stay at his house. And why she hadn't protested it. Of course she wanted to stay but that would be hard to explain to Harry when he finds out that was where she was hiding out the whole time. But she needed to see Ginny and everyone.

She stumbled out through the fireplace to hear Ginny yelling from somewhere deep in the house. Hermione smiled, she sounded just like her mother! "Ginny," She called out and sat down at the table, fixing herself a cup of tea. It had been at least 10 minutes before Ginny appeared.

"Hermione! I didn't hear you come in," she exclaimed and hugged her. "So you're ok? I heard what happened! Harry's in the hospital but he's getting out today. He's fine though, didn't even need to go there in the first place but they insisted. He's not happy about it, that's why I'm here. We were all worried about you though. Where have you been?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Uhm…at Draco's," she said, lowering her voice. Ginny's eyebrows rose.

"I know! But that's where he took me after-well you know. And I kind of like-no, I feel safe there. That's it. With all the ancient security spells," She said.

"Ok," Ginny said uncertainly then they went on to talk about other things completely unrelated to recent events. Finally, the front door slammed.

"That'll be Harry," she said and hurried to the door. Hermione followed after her and watched as the two hugged and he rambled on complaining. "Hi Harry," Hermione spoke up as he hadn't noticed she was there.

"Hermione! Where were you?" He asked while checking with his eyes to see if she was hurt. He put his cloack down by the front door and stepped over to her.

"I'm fine. I was with, uh, Draco," she said, not meeting his eyes.

"I know. We couldn't find you. Where is he?" He looked around, expecting to see Draco Malfoy sitting on the couch scowling at him..

"He'll be here sometime, but don't take him in or anything. Everything's fine. I'm fine. Nothing is wrong," she said reassuringly.

"…Ok," he said and turned to Ginny, "I need to talk to you." Ginny nodded. Harry cast a look back at Hermione then they left the room with Hermione standing in the middle alone.

"Ron visited me at St. Mungos. He wants to see Hermione, but I don't think that's the right thing at the moment. And I don't know what he'll say or do," Harry told Ginny.

"Just keep him away! Lock him up in jail or something!" Ginny said.

"You know I can't do that. But if he shows up here then send him away."

"That won't be a problem," she replied. Harry went to say something else but Hermione interrupted by shrieking, "Harry!" They rushed to the front room instantly, but she was already gone.

**Author's Note: Sorry it's so short but I just wanted to get it updated for the lovely people that reviewed. Thank you! The next chapter is definitely better than this.**


	14. Chapter 14

Ginny paced around. Something wasn't right. Hermione would not have just gone off and left like that without saying a proper goodbye. Harry sensed it too and went out the front door as if to look for her while Ginny sent her an owl, saying she forgot something and had to come back to get it instantly. It was a bad excuse for her to come back, but it would work. Ginny had a suspicion that someone had come to the door, Hermione answered it, but then what? And who?

Ginny huffed. Things always worked out like this! Without any warning everything would all of the sudden go mad and wonky! She sat down in a chair to think of ways to get Hermione to come back and waited for Harry to get back later. She'd go looking for Hermione herself but she stayed at home in case Hermione came back.

Ron also apparated and disapparated to every place he thought Hermione would be but for a different reason. She was in none of those places. He was getting mad and flustered. He hadn't realized trying to find to her to only talk would take this much work!

He tried a few more places then stopped, afraid of trying too many places and ending up getting splinched again at his unfocused mind. Shuddering at the thought, Ron sat down on a wooden bench and looked up at all the happy couples walking around smiling. He envied them. How did he end up messing up the only real relationship he had ever had. The only girl he had really loved all his life since Hogwarts…beside his mum though, of course. Then he drifted off in a daydream, completely ignoring the vital information that was being broadcast in the television store right in front of him.

Ginny heard the tiny pop outside and went out to see who arrived, hoping to see Harry or Hermione.

"Luna! What's wrong?" She said as Luna ran towards her.

"I just heard. I thought you should know first. That muggle thing with a screen in front of your couch. A TV- is that what it's called? Turn it on!" She said quickly in her high pitched voice, wide moon-like eyes filled with some kind of worry. She followed Ginny inside.

"What is it?" Ginny said, running to turn it on. A football match appeared on the screen. Luna looked at the screen confused then saw the remote and started to flip through the channels. Ginny guessed whatever Luna wanted her to know was better seen than told.

"There!" Luna pointed at the screen. Ginny watched it for a few seconds in horror then ran outside to disapparate, leaving Luna behind to run after her.

Red hair swayed behind her as her foot tapped impatiently in the lift going up to Harry's office. This was the fastest way to get to him since he never answered his cell phone. He insisted they both get the pointless muggle technology but he never paid much attention to it! She ran to his office and blurted out the news. Harry, not even pausing to ask questions, sprinted after her as she led the way out of the Ministry and took her hand as they got outside into the cold winter air. They disappeared together with a small urgent pop.

Ron, finally snapping out of his daydream, looked up to notice a group of people gathering right in front of him to look at the TV displayed in the shop. Annoyed, he got up to leave the crowd as some breaking muggle news appeared on the TV's, but then he caught a glimpse of the screen and pushed his way to the front. His eyes took in the scene taking place that very much had to do with wizards, horrified, and then also disapparated, right in front of all those muggles. But they didn't notice one bit.

Draco had been pacing the hallways of his house, wasting time and looking at the old portraits who gave him nasty looks in return. It was quiet and peaceful there, in the corridors of a house that was barely used. No one ever came to the part he was in now. Not even the few old house elves that were left to serve his mother came down here to clean or hide from her. While thinking about that he heard his mother calling for him and sighed, going to find her.

"What?" He groaned walking up to her, knowing she wouldn't be happy with him but he was, after all, in her house. He stared at her white hair, not believing what she was saying! There was a very brief conversation between them, involving several interruptions from Draco, who then promptly stormed off while his mother was still talking and cursed, very, very loudly. She yelled after for him to come back but his feet walked quickly. Then he broke out into a sprint and disappeared, unknowingly, to the same place all the others were at.

Meanwhile, Hermione was in shock. They had escaped. They all had escaped. She was terrified. Horrified! How had they gotten away? She answered the door because they'd rang the doorbell and called out Pascale's Magical Pizza. Instead the three Raro's rushed at her. Hermione had slashed her wand in a defensive response but they were too quick. They silenced her and drug her out of the Potter's house. Hermione would have thought Harry would have had more security around his house! Unless they broke through them…

Victoria revealed they had been watching the house all day from a distance, waiting on her! But things hadn't gone to their original plan apparently. They took her to the countryside, but Hermione couldn't tell where. She stood tied up tightly to a tree, pulling at the ropes but they were magic so it was a useless effort. The three of them, in detail, described what they were going to do to her excitedly. Amalia was in the middle of trailing her wand down Hermion's face, trying to decide where to start first, but then muggles showed up. A ton of them. They were on a nature tour or something. Of course they had wanted to kill them, but Hermione quickly cleverly told them that if they did the Ministry would find out and her or some brilliant excuse. She really couldn't remember it since her hands were shaking the whole time.

Hermione stared torture and possibly death in the eyes of these sick people but she unusually kept her cool, level head and focused on trying to get away. Maybe she was calm because Hermione figured there was no way she was getting out of this one. There was nothing she could think of but to stall for time. Her excuse about not killing the muggles made the three casted each other looks and walked off to the side dressed in black robes to converse a little bit away about what to do.

Hermione looked out straight ahead. They were in a grassy area with scattered trees and in the distance there was a house. It looked like a large, abandoned house.

A man in the group of muggles on the nature tour noticed her. The ropes were invisible and there were some shrubs obscuring the tree but he saw her. Somehow. He should not have. He casted a curious glance at her and she looked straight ahead. _No, no. Don't come over here. _She thought, afraid the ones in black would disregard her earlier excuse of hurting the muggles. They most certainly would kill him!

Over to the left, out of the very corner of her eyes, the three were still conversing together. Hermione's stomach was twisting about. She looked back over at the boy, who glanced back at the group and started to slowly make his way over, as to not let the group notice his wandering off. Hermione shook her head back and forth as if to say no. No, don't come. But he did. The boy, similar in age to her, came closer and almost smiled familiarly. But why?

"Go away," she said when he was a few feet away, looking over the short shrubs and tall grass. Her own voice shook.

"I know you," he replied, ignoring her. "But how?"

"I've never seen you before. Now I'm telling you, really, you must go back to your group. Now," she pleaded. He hadn't noticed the other wizards yet. The boy with brown hair furrowed his eyebrows. He muttered, "But where…?"

"Please! Go!" Hermione begged him again.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" He asked, finally hearing the edge in her voice.

"No, go away."

"Okay, I won't bother you anymore only if you'll come with me. Come back with the group, they won't notice. You don't look too comfortable leaning against the tree," he said cleverly. He seemed like a smart boy.

Oh how she wished she could go back with him on that boring nature tour. "I-I can't," she said, not looking at him.

He shrugged and went up to the tree casually and leaned against it, beside her. "I'm not leaving." His brown eyes stared back into hers. They were so close.

"Those people over there, to your left…"she hesitated, "Well, I can't move away from this tree. Uhm, magic." Hermione said softly. He looked over at them and raised his eyebrows but didn't laugh or mock but seemed to believe her. They were wearing black robes after all and were arguing.

"How can I help?" He offered.

"By leaving." She said. He started to speak but shrugged and shook his head nope.

"Fine… Uhh," she said. How could he help? Victoria had taken her wand.

"You can't. There's nothing to be done," she choked out. She was going to die, it dawned on her. And muggles would be watching.

"Yes, there is!" He said positively looking down at her arms. His thin hands reached down towards them and she felt him pull at the rope. Her eyes lit up. Maybe he could after all help! Relief almost flooded into her. There was a way out. Hope filled her. _What were they over there talking about though?_ She wondered. But there wasn't time to think about that, she was getting out of this mess!

She watched as he deftly felt the ropes for the knot and attempted to untie it, and let them fall to the ground, still invisible, and bent down to her feet, doing the same. They came loose after several minutes of him tugging and pulling.

"Umm," She said, almost awkwardly, "There's one around my middle and it's rather tight."

"No problem," He said and slowly put his hands flat against her shirt where her stomach was to feel for the rope. He couldn't feel it.

"It's higher up," She groaned. His cheeks reddened at that. Instead of feeling in the front, he felt at the side for it and slowly loosened and untied the know by her side. Hermione moved slowly, unnoticeably, a bit away from the tree. She was free. "Thank you!" She said.

"I do know you!" he suddenly said. "You were the girl in front of the bookshop on that rainy day. You were crying and looking up at the sky. Without an umbrella. Then disappeared," Amazement filled her eyes. She remembered that day. How could she forget!

"You saw me?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Wow," she muttered and became aware of the situation again, "We need to go. Now," Hermione said and slowly moved around to the other side of the tree and dropped down into the tall grass, trying not to attract their attention. With both of them crouching down, they started running back to the group slowly, through the grass, like wild stalking animals.

They were halfway there; he had gotten ahead of her by a little bit, when she heard it mere miliseconds before she felt it. "Stupefy!" Hermione was knocked off of her feet and thrown back several hundred meters. She flew through the air in fright, with the remnants of the red spell still in her eyes, and fell to the ground, landing wrongly on her leg. She should've been unconscious, but instead instant pain spread through her leg. It was certainly broken.

Cries, yells, and shrieks echoed from the group away. Hermione lay on the ground, trying to sit up. A pair of black boots and the ends of a billowing robe appeared in front of her. Sheer bloody terror filled her insides.

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone reviewing! It's really helping me. Also don't worry, I am determined to complete this story. It's almost the end but the next few parts will be more action packed and slightly mature for violence. **


	15. Chapter 15

_Hermione lay on the ground, trying to sit up. A pair of black boots appeared in front of her with a pop. Sheer bloody terror filled her insides._

She had landed right in front of the old house. To her right and some of the muggles were running towards her, with the one boy in front. With a pang of sadness, Hermione realized she never learned his name. Victoria jerked her up to her feet, to which Hermione cringed really badly and fell back down.

"This isn't according to our plan," Victoria whined.

"Drag her inside," her mother replied quickly, at seeing the running men. She put a defensive spell up to block them from coming closer. Hermione was levitated into the house by Victoria while the two parents were outside still.

"You're going to deserve everything you get." She spat at Hermione, on the floor breathing heavily. They were upstairs. No kitchen with knives. No long objects. No wand. Nothing to fight with. No chance of running away. But her eyes still darted across the room looking for something, anything. Her leg felt like it was on fire, it was hot and burning with pain. Her hands clutched it as she watched Victoria move around the room warily.

"I've hated you since mother began this plan of revenge on you. It was only after I found out from unknowing Ron that you were the same person my family loathed," Victoria said.

"You'll all get what you deserve," Hermione said breathily. Victoria shrugged. "Perhaps," She said but blatantly showed she didn't believe it.

"Until then, let's have some fun. Let's get you warmed up for what's coming. Crucio!"

Hermione let go on her leg and fell back on to the floor, rolling over to her side, brown eyes screwed up with agony. She let out a scream before it was lifted.

"As I said, we are warming up," Victoria said as she stood over Hermione, nudging her leg. Pain seared through it before the rest of her body as the curse was put on again. Hermione had a flashback to when Bellatrix did the same thing to her. It wasn't as bad this time around but still almost unbearable. She screamed again, louder than she intended. It was longer than the first one but stopped.

Clanking of boots came up the stairs. The three of them now towered over her. "We will kill you, yes, but there was a tiny disagreement among us as to how," Amalai said, black eyes big with glee.

"Killing curse would be less of a mess," muttered her husband, standing in the back.

"But the cruciatus would be more fun!" Victoria hissed back at him.

Hermione lay on the hard ground breathing heavily with tears running down her face. They began arguing among themselves and Hermione would have stared at them with fright Victoria silenced her and "Crucio'ed" her again while the three discussed what they'd do.

Hermione writhed around on the floor in silence now. It stopped as apparently they agreed on something. Hermione had her face against the floor and risked opening her wet eyes. That's when she saw it. Nothing big, but something. There was a dusty box of matches underneath the bed, lying crookedly on the wood.

Her arm reached out to them, and while keeping her eyes on the Raro's, she quickly opened the box and pulled out a few matches. Steadying her breathing at the risk she just took, she hid the small sticks in her hand.

"Get up," the man snapped. Hermione did nothing. She didn't want to get up, nor thought she could. He stomped over and pulled her up by her hair. A desperate shriek escaped from her lips. While she balanced on one leg, he kept ahold of her hair, and said, "Pick!" as to pick with path of her fate. That was her chance. She lit the match and put it down his shirt. He yelled out and she fell back again on the floor, landing on her not broken leg.

Sweat and dust mixed on her face with blood from a small cut. Lying face first on the floor, with extreme pain shooting up her leg, Hermione took a big breath and lit another one. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. She lunged towards the nearest leg and thrust it down the boot. Instantly Victoria started hopping on one foot, kicked Hermione back, and tried to stop the fire now spreading up her robes.

The fire latched onto the wooden floor. A small fire started in the room filled with angry shrieks. She almost smiled when all three of them were on fire. The fire from her husband's shirt had spread to his wife's when she tried to put it out. Then, the drapes on the other side of the room went aflame. It spread very quickly. Flames licked the window and the walls and climbed higher and higher. And she had a bad feeling that they may not have been normal matches, but magical ones.

Leaning back against the wall, she breathed in the smoky air. Things were getting blurry. The Raro's attention wasn't at all on Hermione now but on the orange flames. Victoria had thrown off her cloak and started to angrily stomp towards Hermione but stopped short.

"Aurors!" She screamed, staring in horror out of the window, "And the damn muggles! There are more of them!" Victoria shrieked. They had called the police. There was a cameraman outside even, videoing the house that none of the muggles could get into. Like there was an invisible shield up. He was filming the flames licking the upper window of the ancient house. The one boy, who had helped her, beat his fists against the air, against the unseen blockade.

Her parents got the fire off of them and rushed over in a rage. The mother raised her wand, to end it all. Hermione closed her eyes. At least it would be peaceful but the fear was about to explode out of her throat.

"NO!" Victoria screeched. "The aurors! We need to go. NOW!" She said and yanked her parents away to the middle of the room, where the fire had not gone yet.

"What about-?" Her mother said fiercely.

"Let the flames consume her," Victoria replied hatefully. Flames flew out of her wand, as she spun in a circle, adding fuel to the fire. Then they were gone. Just like that.

Hermione breathed out a sigh of relief. She wasn't going to die. Then she coughed. Smoke. The room was on fire! She could die!

Fiendfyre. It was a brighter orange than normal fire. And spread quicker. And hotter. Eyes wide with horror, she used a bedside table to pull herself to her good foot. It burst into flames as soon as she was up. Out of the window were several figures running towards the house. They were coming! Aurors. Among two, who were pushing each other while running, was red hair and white hair. Ron and Draco.

She looked down at her leg and let out a cry when she tried to put it down to walk on it. Looking around desperately, she began to slowly hop towards the fiery doorway. She jumped through it and landed on the floor in the hallway.

The front door slammed open. "HeRe!" She tried to yell. The smoke began to thicken. There was no wand to be seen for a water spell. Everything had an orange glow. Something metal fell from the walls and rolled around.

"Up here," Hermione said loudly. Everything was hot. Really hot. Sweat gathered on her neck and her hair wasn't neat. She couldn't hear the voices that should be coming. That meant they weren't coming. She felt dizzy and blurry. The room was spinning. Hermione focused very hard on standing up, grabbing onto a doorway frame. Finally getting her balance, she hopped very small hops towards where she thought the staircase was. She was exhausted from the torturing curse.

Suddenly, Hermione fell straight down into a hole covered by a rug, which the very ends of it were starting to light up. "HELP!" She screamed hoarsely. Her arms tried to weakly push herself up from the gap in the floor. Her entire foot had gone through it and was stuck in the rug.

Grunting, she yanked on it and looked helplessly at the fire spreading around her. Soon, she would in fact be consumed by the flames. The heat was almost too much. Nothing came out of her dry throat. No sounds. Except for the creaking and crackling of the entire house now on fire.

Desperately, she half-heartedly grabbed her knee and yanked on her foot. Her other leg was sticking out at an odd angle. She cried out soundlessly. She gave a final tug at it and it came more loose, but not all the way. A figure came out of absolutely nowhere towards her.

Her head lifted up and groggily she could see smoke and fire everywhere. Confused, she looked to the right and saw a man next to her. Oh, he was carrying her now. And his mouth was yelling something. But what was it saying?

"Hermione!" It yelled. "Yes!" She cried out happily. Someone! Finally! And she realized who it was. His hair blended in at first so she couldn't have seen. Ron. He shouted, "Are you ok? We'll get out of this!"

"Ron!" She said soundlessly, happily, forgetting everything in the past. Almost like reliving the battle of Hogwarts again. Him and her together, making their way through the rubble and fire.

There was nothing to say. They needed to get out. Ron looked around and found the staircase he had gone up. It was blazing. "Uhh," He groaned desperately, and slowly made his way down the steps, carrying Hermione, as fast as he could. She was half alert now. And she was afraid he was going to drop her.

They reached the bottom and made his way around a corner of a hallway. "Where's the door?" She shouted.

"This is the second floor," he bellowed back.

"That way," She pointed with her arms, spotting the other staircase. He made his way down half of it. Then he fell through the rotten wooden steps, letting go of Hermione. She yelled out as she hit the stairs and tumbled down the rest of the few steps. She pushed herself up with her arms and looked straight into the room across from her, filled with fire. Another figure came rushing out of it and towards her.

He picked her up swiftly with ease, unlike the struggling ginger. Draco! He barely looked at her and instead spun around, looking for the exit. It was getting harder to breathe and see as the smoke was so thick, but the flames were brighter. She saw another short figure rounding the corner.

"Harry!" She managed to yell and pointed to the staircase, "Ron!" Harry ran off towards where Ron was struggling, stuck in the stairs. Draco turned his body around and ran towards the door. He kicked it open and ran out.

The cool wind hit her face. It felt so good. The fresh air burned her lungs in a good way. All the people outside cheered at seeing her come out. There was a crowd of them. Draco carried her away from the people and let her down on the grass. He didn't know where to start. He didn't know what to say. So instead he didn't say anything and stood up to take off his shirt.

She didn't notice as she saw Ron and Harry burst out of the house that was about to collapse. Ginny was yelling at the muggles to get back. The brown haired muggle boy ran towards them and past her.

"Are you okay? You're hurt!" He said kneeling down next to them. She grinned softly at him as she was now entirely exhausted. Draco was wrapping his shirt around her bleeding foot on the leg that wasn't broken.

"How can I help?" He asked Draco, who in reply gave him an angry look that plainly said to go away.

"My name is Dustin by the way," he said to Hermione.

"HermioNEEE," She screamed as Draco went to touch her broken leg.

"Sorry," he muttered and went back to the other foot to finish up. The earlier dulled pain came back now. She lay back in the grass and groaned.

"It hurts," she said with tears jumping to her eyes. Actually, everything hurt but that was the sharpest pain compared to the rest.

"I'm a nurse," Dustin said, taking authority.

"A trainee Healer," Hermione said to Draco. He grumbled but moved to the side of Hermione, who clutched his arm with her nails. But he let her, even though it hurt.

The boy straightened out her leg and looked at it. "Broken," he murmured as she closed her eyes from the pain. Draco lowered his voice and said, "If you told me, I could have fixed it."

"You're not a healer, Draco!" She said. Hermione knew he hated muggles but she didn't care at the moment. Dustin looked around and said that there wasn't much he could do until they had more available supplies. Draco huffed and ran over to Ron, Harry, and Ginny.

Hermione began to become tired. "How will I see you again?" Dustin said, realizing they were about to leave and take Hermione with them.

"Uhm. When I'm better, I'll come back to that little bookshop. I love books," She replied as Draco came back and picked her up gently, strongly. She laid her head on his somehow cool chest but he urged her to stay awake.

"I'll be waiting!" Dustin called out as Draco disapparated away.

The world spun. It spun fast around her. She saw the white of Draco's hair and a bunch of other colors before it all stopped and they were in St. Mungo's. But she was fading. "Hermione," He prodded, "Stay awake. Look, look at me. It's going to be fine." But she just couldn't keep her eyes open, even for him.

**Author's note: I want to say a huge thank you so far to Rachelleislost96 for reviewing a bunch and for letting me know I reposted the same chapter twice, a careless mistake by me...whoops.**


	16. Chapter 16

Draco paced. And paced. And paced. In countless circles and ovals in the waiting room. They wouldn't let him in. She had been fine but then they realized she had been losing a lot of blood and rushed her into an emergency procedure. He didn't know for sure. They wouldn't tell him!

His stomach was sinking. Everything was his fault. He felt as if he should just get far, far away from her to keep her safe, even if that would be illogical. He was the one that saved her twice! Victoria was his fault, the potion was his fault, everything bad happening lately to her was direct or indirectly his doing! Not on purpose though. He felt bad. She didn't deserve all of this. Hermione was bright and should be working at a job high up in the Ministry right now or reading a large book, not at St. Mungos.

But he also knew that if he went away, disappeared, that it might not be the best. He kept causing all of this hurt and pain but if he left, the Raro's might be able to get to her more easily, as much as it sickened him. By still being here, he might be able to stop them and save her. Save her from any more pain she didn't deserve. Kill them before they hurt anyone else.

A nurse came out and he rushed over to her. Well actually, he rushed past her to the room Hermione was in and stepped in slowly. Her hair was piled on top of her head in curly bunches. Her leg was in a cast and she had a few bandages in various places, but other than that she looked fine and smiled when he came in.

"Hey," he said and sat in the chair by the bed.

"Do you think you could do me a favor?" She asked suspiciously. Her little curls spiraled out everywhere. She would've thought she looked awful with bushy hair but he thought it was cute. Her life put in jeopardy put things into perspective for him quite quickly.

"Yeah. Sure. Of course." Draco said.

"Get me some normal food! The food here is awful!" Hermione laughed, indicating to the tray that had half a dried up sandwich on it. Draco joined in.

"From where?" He replied and she rattled off several possible places but ended up choosing the first one. He turned to leave.

"Well, you don't have to go right this second. Do you?" She called out when he was at the door. It was so lonely. Ginny and Harry hadn't stopped by yet, nor had Ron. No one actually had come by but Luna who only stayed for a few minutes after a nurse chased her away. Hermione was a bit disappointed but shoved the feeling off to the side. They would eventually come. They might not have been allowed it, now that she thought about it. Luna might've came in accidentally.

"Uhh, no I guess not," He said and strolled back over and sat down on the bed, but carefully avoided her hurt leg. Hermione looked around. She didn't want to be lonely but didn't know what to say. How was that possible?

"So. Umm. How's your leg?" Draco asked.

"Fine. They said that if someone hadn't wrapped it up it would've been a lot worse. So, thanks to you!" Hermione said and he grinned widely.

"I told you I could've even healed it completely, I was studying to be a Healer for a while but then…" He trailed off.

"Yeah, okay," Hermione said lightly and they went on and talked for an hour more or so before her stomach grumbled audibly. She didn't want him to leave but he insisted that he would be right back.

Hermione stared at the ceiling, she hadn't checked the clock but it had been over an hour, she knew. At least, over the amount of time it should've taken Draco. There should not have even been a wait. She sighed and rolled over as much as she could to stare at the white wall. It all played back in her mind again and was projected onto the white wall.

Fire was everywhere. Screaming filled her ears. Whether it was her own or someone else's she didn't know, but it was constant. Heat and sweat crammed their way into her mind. Her eyes glazed over with tears. Pain and suffering and hurt and fire. Lots of fire. Physical pain and much more scarring emotional pain had occupied her for the past few weeks. She didn't know what was so wrong.

She started to shake with the bad memories of the fiery house and the times before facing Victoria. Hot, wet tears spilled over from her eyes, but there was no Draco there to help her through it like last time. He never showed back up that night and she fell asleep lonely.

Spilled food was spread out on the counter of the almost empty manor. He was crouched down hiding in the closet. Draco was more of a coward than he was willing to admit. They were there. They were there in his house. His mother must have been out, and they had been waiting on him. The Raro's wouldn't hurt Mrs. Malfoy. That was the scary, yet very relieving thing. They didn't know where Hermione was. That was a good thing. But they knew where he was. That was not such a good thing.

After leaving the hospital, he had went out to get Hermione's food and came back to change his shirt as he was planning to spend the night on the little chair in her room. That didn't happen. Good thing his stomach had felt that something was not quite right or he would be dead or writhing on the ground at the moment. He had ducked just in time before the red spell was cast and ran.

They had chased him but he knew his way around the house much better, of course. They were still looking for him. Calling out his name. Taunting him. Hopefully the deadly charms in certain rooms would work that they might go into, that might eliminate one of the three. How was he going to get out? He couldn't disapparate since there was a protective charm. He wouldn't be able to get to the fireplace to floo in time. His broomstick had been lost for some time now. So Draco just sat, waiting, hoping, in a little ball, eyes wide, in the dark corner of a closet, with boxes stacked in front of him, trying to think of a plan.

**Author's Note: Tell me what you think so far! It'll help me finish this story with a good ending!** **There are about 5 chapters left.**


	17. Chapter 17

Hermione was staring at the ceiling in the morning. She was fine now. Time would heal it, she knew. She hoped. But where was Draco? A nurse came in and Hermione asked if he had seen her.

"No. But you do have a visitor," She replied. "Is it okay if he comes in?"

"Yeah," Hermione replied. But if it wasn't Draco, who was it? And where was he! As soon as the short figure with messy black hair stepped in, she knew instantly who it was. "Harry!"

"Hey! Sorry, I had to clear things up with the whole…incident and take care of the Ministry. Everything's taken care of though. How are you?" He said walking around. He seemed…antsy.

"Fine. Leg hurts a bit but it will heal soon enough. You didn't see Draco out there, did you?" She couldn't help but ask him.

"No. Why?" Harry said, sitting down in a chair, giving her a strange look. She probably knew she wasn't 'fine' but that look was for something else.

"I just wondered. He left quite a while ago and was supposed to be back by now," Hermione replied.

"Oh. Umm, okay, I'll do whatever you want for this but…Ron wants to come visit you. I told him not to come in yet but he's in the lobby. I thought it might be awkward so I told him to wait," Harry said quickly. That was surprising. Hermione hadn't expected that. She couldn't even decide if she wanted to see him or not. Being with Draco eased her hate towards him…and he did save her. But he caused her a lot of pain too.

"Sure," She said undecidedly, just to give him an answer. "But stay in here with me. Don't leave!"

"I'll go and get him," he said, almost out the door.

"WAIT!" Hermione said and he spun around quickly. "Uhh, how's my hair? Do I look awful?" She asked. Harry furrowed his eyebrows.

"No, of course not! You look like you," he said and left. She huffed. Typical answer from him. She did get a little nervous while waiting for them to come back. Her hair couldn't look good, she was at a hospital! She tried to smooth it down and felt the tiny little frizzy curls and sighed. It wouldn't be able to be fixed by the time they got back. Hermione pulled up the blankets on the bed to cover up more and sat up with the pillow behind her.

Footsteps outside the room became louder and she waited for them to come in, but it was just a Healer that passed by. She stared blankly at the wall for a few more minutes until footsteps were heard again. It was just one set though so she expected them to go by. Instead red hair caught her eye from the doorway.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione said instantly to Ron, coming off rudely but not meaning to.

"He was called away for an emergency. Something to do with Auror work," He said walking in slowly. "Can I sit down?" He said and she nodded in reply. _That wasn't entirely true_, he thought. There was an uproar at Malfoy Manor but this was his time to talk to Hermione alone finally, where she wouldn't be able to run off and she can listen.

"Oh," She said and grew quiet. What was she supposed to say?! She didn't know.

"So how is everything?"

"Fine. I'll be fine in a week or two. This place is so boring though!" Hermione joked. He laughed. How was he supposed to start this conversation? Just dive in, he guessed.

"So how are you feeling…about us?" He said softly. Hermione looked down at her wrist and spun a bracelet around. She knew he'd ask eventually, now that he was back around. But she didn't know the answer. Didn't know what he wanted to hear. Didn't know what to say. She had been thinking recently about it and she was confused herself.

As much as it hurt her heart, she still loved Ron. She had through all of those years at Hogwarts and after the final battle against Voldemort their friendship had grown stronger into love. Then it shattered apart and that truly had hurt. She still had feelings for him but her strong mind told her heart to resist them.

However, many years that had been together couldn't be erased in memories or in feelings so easily. Especially after that one horrific day where the love was replaced by hatred. However, since she met Draco her hate towards Ron had grown less and less…and well her liking for Draco grew more and more. He wouldn't be completely forgiven, but he really did look sorry. Ugh! She didn't know!

"Uhm. Listen Ron… I really don't know. We aren't an 'us' anymore. I don't know what we are. I mean you've been gone for a while now," She said and added with Victoria bitterly in her mind, "and a lot of new things have happened." Like my newfound love for Draco, she added again in her mind.

"I know. 'Mione, you have to know how sorry I am. I really am very sorry. I just want it to be like it was again," he pleaded in a heartbreaking voice.

"I know you are. But it's not going to be like it was so soon again, maybe not ever again," Hermione replied looking up at his watery eyes.

"What do I have to do?"

"I don't know. We'll have to see what time brings us," She whispered softly. She couldn't mention Draco to him. It was too hard. For being a strong girl, she was weak with love. But Draco Malfoy was not forgotten while she replied. She was torn.

"I know," he said, looking at his muddy shoes.

Meanwhile, Harry had gotten an urgent owl and dashed off, leaving Ron alone with Hermione, who wouldn't be very happy with him, but he had the feeling she'd be thankful later. There had been a security breech at Malfoy Manor. Aurors were always notified because there were important things hidden there so it needed to be protected and secure, but usually Draco turned it off or took care of it within minutes but this time hadn't. They knew something was wrong when he didn't storm into the Ministry with some ridiculous vacation outfit or in his pajamas like he sometimes did to tell them off about sending Aurors into the Manor unannounced.

There was no word from him. They waited half an hour then notified Harry, who guessed something was not right when after Hermione said he was supposed to have been back by now. So, he went to the Ministry to get a few extra guys and went to the outside of Malfoy's house. It was a disaster. The top part of the house was missing, like an explosion had happened in the empty wing on the top floor. Also, there were horrifying noises coming from the forest and purple smoke seeping from where he knew the dungeon to be.

The team split up and carefully surrounded the house. Harry's first order was to find any people, like Draco or the house elves, and get them to safety then to come back immediately. A loud crash sounded from a nearby room though Harry was still outside the house. What had Malfoy gotten into?!


	18. Chapter 18

Draco creeped silently down the quiet hallway that had huge scratches and cuts on the empty frames of his ancestor's portraits. They had all left. He didn't blame them. He was trying to find a way out himself. There had been many explosions in various parts of the house. They were destroying everything all while trying to kill him. The house was fighting back though too.

He hated to admit it, even if it was just to himself, but he was properly frightened. Just like the battle at Hogwart's. Enemies were in a place that he knew like the back of his hand, they were in his home, and were destroying it. He knew every little room and hiding place but Draco couldn't find a way out. He could fight, but the chances weren't good. At all. Everything he knew was getting blown up. And he was trapped. He didn't want to die.

There had been an explosion near the closet he was hiding in and it blocked off the entrance. He had to blast away the debris and move to safety if there was another explosion to go off nearby. They had heard him. Stupid idea. He should have waited a little bit until they moved onto a new area. He ran down the hallways quickly but they were good at casting spells. And all of them were green or red. The worst ones. Sweat and dirt lined his face.

Chunks of the walls would crash into his arm while he skidded around a corner away from them. He lost them in the new section of the house and was currently walking quietly. They'd be looking in all the closets now. Draco listened for any movement. He was trying to think of ways to get out. They will have all the entrances covered or set traps up for ones that they can't stand guard at. He tried to get out through a dungeon window but set off a poisonous gas.

He almost passed out while running out of there, holding his breath and not daring to breathe. He paused, sitting down and leaning against a hallway wall, to rest and try to see straight again. That was a few minutes ago. Now he was on the move again. There was a tower on the top floor that he could try to get out that way.

Suddenly he heard movement behind him and he spun around, ready to cast a spell and fight until death, when his eyes flashed to a lightning scar on the man's forehead and Draco relaxed instantly. Potter raised his eyes brows at the mess Draco had apparently gotten himself into and came closer.

"I don't know where they are. How'd you get in?" Draco said quietly.

"The front door, but it's now, uh, occupied," he said.

"There's possibly a way out from the top tower but no way down," he replied again.

"Remember the trick I used in the Triwizard Tournament?" Harry asked.

"No," Draco snarled.

"Accio firebolt!" He said and they waited until a broom whizzed into his hand.

"That's great for you but my broom was broken!" Draco said and started moving slowly down the hallway.

"Ahh. Uhh, we can both ride on this one," Harry said uncertainly.

"No," Draco said, knowing it wouldn't fit both of them. It was made for speed, not strength.

"Or you could just jump off," Harry said, irritated.

"Give me your broom and you can dive off head first," Draco snarled back. Potter wasn't much help. What was he going to do!

Potter followed him up to the tower. The staircase had multiple gaps in it from where they tried to destroy it but it was magic and slowly repaired itself so they carefully made their way up it. Draco looked over the edge. That was a really long way down. His breathing increased significantly.

"Husband! How are you?" Asked a voice from the shadows. Draco and Harry spun around fast. Draco's back was against the wall, and his frightened eyes met the cold eyes of Victoria.

"Fiancé," He replied coolly but his eyes were panicked. Harry looked around for a way out for Draco. There was none.

"And the boy-who-lived. Nice to meet you," She said nodding to Harry, who nodded back, but her business was clearly and solely with Draco.

"I heard there's another girl," She said, taking her time walking closer towards them.

"I heard there is another guy," He countered, his fingers grasping his wand behind his back.

"Was. He's boring. I've moved on, back to you. You're better looking anyhow. Better marrying material," Victoria said seductively.

"So what are you waiting for? Going to kill me? Just do it!" Draco blurted out hysterically. He had faced death so many times; he almost just wanted it to be over. He was tired of the sleepless nights after horrific events with the nightmares that haunted him nightly. It could all be over. He could be worry free dead. If there was no way out; why prolong it?

"Kill you? No, no, no. That's just my parents' wish. I love you, Draco! I couldn't kill you! Torture, maybe yes; kill, never," She said going up to slide her hand down his arm.

"That's nice to know," he replied, his eyes darting to the stairwell entrance every few seconds. "So what now?" He asked.

She paused. "I don't know," Victoria replied honestly. She was evil inside, yes, but not like her parents. She was twisted but not a killer. Draco jumped up onto the ledge of the railing and sat on it. He stayed perfectly still while staring over her shoulder. She turned around to see the elder Raro's smiling sickly at the stairwell entrance. Suddenly the words of the killing curse were screamed and everything flashed by as red embraced him. He was falling through the air with the last trace of red stuck in his eyes before everything went dark.

Beeping filled his ears. And loud voices. If he was dead, he wanted silence and quiet, not a bunch of buzzing noises that were increasingly louder and annoying. Then, like surfacing from underwater, everything jumped into focus and he gulped in air. He could make out certain words and could see everything, it was just blurred. Suddenly a Healer's face got very closer to his and Draco understood that they were giving him sedatives, so he passed out again.

Finally, Draco was fully awake and laying on a hospital bed and trying to understand what Potter was telling him. Hermione didn't know yet but apparently was in the room across the hallway, which was convenient.

"Slow down and repeat," Draco said with considerable effort.

Harry huffed and started from the beginning again. "When she turned they were at the entrance. One of the two raised their wand and made a big gesture to get ready to utter the killing curse for you. Victoria, realizing what they were about to do, turned back and stupefied you, that was the red you seem to remember. The curse knocked you off of the tower and you fell off backwards. I was able to slow the fall with a spell Dumbledore used on me once and you fell slower. I instantly rode my broom down towards the ground. …You still hit pretty hard and were taken here immediately," He finished.

Draco lay there, trying to process it. It seemed unreal but the red he remembered very vividly. It had to be real. "Huh," he uttered. Then a new question haunted him.

"What happened to them? What happened to her?"

Harry paused. "Draco, she saved your life. They had a clear shot of you but by her throwing you off of the edge of the tower, you had a better chance of surviving that unforgiveable curse," He started.

"Well? What happened then?" Draco urged on, getting a sinking feeling.

Harry paused again before starting. He hadn't known what Draco's and Victoria's relationship status was. Obviously there was a love-hate thing going on but he had no clue at all about any of it. He hadn't wanted to be the one to tell Draco.

"I'm sorry Draco. As the mother stepped forward to kill you, she stumbled on debris and the wand misfired towards her daughter. The green engulfed her instantly. It was a painless death. The father, seeing what his wife had done, was distraught and threw down a type of bomb that went off and killed them both after their only daughter was killed," He said evenly with a soft voice.

Emotion flitted across Draco's eyes. Amazement, sadness, despair, anger, confusion, grief. All he could do was sit there in shock. She was dead. They all were dead. Harry nodded curtly and left the room, closing the door. That's when Draco lost it. All of this madness, this girl who he had hated and caused him so much trouble, hurt, and pain, this girl who actually ended up loving him and saved him life, was dead! But was it his fault? But danger was gone. Her evil parents were dead. They wouldn't be there to taunt him anymore.

It was a long night. None of the nurses disturbed made sure of that. He finally got his peace when he didn't want it. He didn't want to be alone on that awful night. He didn't sleep. Image after image crossed his mind every few minutes. His mind was in an almost turmoil type of state. He didn't know what to think about Victoria. He was sad for any death and also very confused. Why did this have to happen? They had so many great times but he moved on, he hated this girl for so long, but really she wasn't so bad. She was, but in retrospect, she wasn't. But, Draco never wanted to marry her. Never wanted her to die either.

Emotion flowed out of him in a watery mess. And Draco Malfoy did not cry. Ever. But that night he did. Everything was overwhelming for him. It was in his upbringing to never show emotion and to never cry, so since he held everything in for past year, it all came out. He hadn't cried since after the Battle of Hogwarts.

Harry went over to Hermione's room and told her everything that happened. She wanted to go see him but she couldn't get up from her bed until the next day, doctor's orders. The door across the hall was locked anyway. So that night she had nightmares, like she had every night so far, but it was Ron that comforted her that night, with the worst nightmare of them all. In her dream, Draco had died, but when she woke up it wasn't he who was there, but Ron, who was always ready to sweep her into a hug, trying to make up for what he'd done.

**Author's Note: Sorry about the kind of sad chapter but don't worry. I'm happy to say this story is coming to a close and there will be a happy ending so don't fret. **


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